Keys to the Heart
by KenziiShy
Summary: Lucy finds a note from Natsu that he is leaving on a mission alone. Hurt, she decides to take a mission to track down Aquarius on her own. Along the way, both parties will realize the difference between fighting together and fighting alone. What will come about it, and will they find each other on the way? Nalu changed rating to T due to later content.
1. Chapter 1

Story will take place after the final battle.

 **Authors Note**

 **It has come to my attention that they're a couple chapters that may upset sensitive readers. Mild violence and language is used in this story. There is no extreme trigger content :ex death.**

 **Thank you for understanding! Enjoy!**

* * *

"I've heard rumors that a celestial key was found up in north Fiore near the mountains."

Lucy turned her head to the side, acknowledging the conversation quietly. It was Macao and Wakaba, they stood nearby, a drink in each of their hands. _A celestial key? Could that be you Aquarius?_

"Yeah, those were the rumors- and a new listing came in, asking specifically for a celestial wizards help."

Lucy perked up, slamming her hands on the table and standing from the bar. The two wizards jumped, startled, "A mission for celestial wizards?" Lucy asked.

The two of them glanced at one another and Macao spoke, "yeah, of course... since you're the only one in Fairy Tail- I would assume that would go directly to you, yeah?"

Lucy's eyes veered over to the mission sign up board and raced over without a reply.

"Whoa, she seems pretty excited doesn't she?" Wakaba noted.

Macao nodded, then glanced around, "Something seems missing...it's awfully quiet, where's Natsu, or Gray?"

"I don't know where Gray is currently, but Natsu just took a mission a couple days ago that requested a dragon slayers assistance. Mira jane said it was dangerous."

Macao glanced over, "I'm surprised Lucy didn't go with him, don't they usually pair up as a team on missions?"

Wakaba shrugged, "beats me, something tells me that he left without saying anything."

Lucy glanced up and down the board and let off a huff of frustration, she turned to the two men and crossed her arms, "Man I was really excited too, I guess it was just a rumor."

The two men glanced at one another, "it's not there?"

"Lucy!" The celestial wizard glanced over to the bar where Mirajane was handing out a drink to Cana. She waved the blonde over and Lucy complied.

"I pulled it down from the board, I was going to give this to you directly, but I got a little caught up in my work." She smiled and brought out a folded paper stuffed in her pocket and handed it to the Celestial Wizard.

"I assume that's what you were looking for." Mira continued.

"One meat pie." Lisanna stood behind Lucy, placing the food down for a couple guests at a nearby table. She then turned around and leaned against the bar to strike up a conversation with her sister.

Lucy's eyes glazed over the notice and read: "Immediately for hire: A celestial wizard. Location near the edge of Shirtosame. Quest needed to retrieve belongings only a celestial mage can attain."

"Sounds like it's meant for you." Lisanna offered and Lucy looked up and nodded, "yeah, this might be the lead I've been looking for."

The two girls glanced at one another, "you mean for that key you lost during our last battle?" Mira Jane offered and Lucy nodded.

"You might be right." Lisanna mused.

"What if it's a trap though... to lure you there? Wasn't there a mission like that before?" Mira continued, "I would be careful...why don't you take someone with you?"

Lisanna looked around, "Where's Natsu, don't you guys usually tag team?"

Lucy folded the paper and stuffed it in her pocket and sighed, "he went on a mission without me."

"Oh, well, I still wouldn't go by yourself." Mirajane replied with a soft smile.

"Don't worry about me, I won't be alone." She smiled and tapped at her side where her keys lay. "I have my spirit family to help me out."

The two of them exchanged glances as they watched the blonde retreat from the bar and head out of the guild with the notice. Lucy felt the sun hit her back and she stretched before reaching back in her pocket to read the notice one more time. A second piece of paper fell out and she kneeled down, hesitating to pick it back up.

Barely legible, black ink smeared across the center that read:

 **Lucy, I'll be going on a mission with Happy, I'll be back in a week or two! -Natsu**

Lucy frowned and stood up, leaving the note on the ground.

"Thanks for the heads up, jerk." Lucy muttered before taking a few steps forward, stepping over the note and heading home to pack her supplies for the trip. Lucy passed by a few homes and stepped up to her apartment, digging in her pocket for her apartment key. The train won't take her directly- she will have to walk or pay for a ride for the rest of the trip from Kunugi to Shirtosame. The mission may take up to a week or more if she was estimating correctly. She smirked as the key slid into the hole and the door flung forward. Shadows danced in her room and she half expected to see the fire dragon slayer lounging on her couch, waiting for her.

Lucy frowned, _Right...his mission._ She closed the door behind her and sighed, well-if he could go on a mission on his own, so could she. It was about time to show the guild she can handle a mission on her own. As a valued member of team fairy tail. Snatching a bag on the floor she began to toss in a few pairs of clothes and required essentials.

This wouldn't be the first time the fire wizard left without warning. Lucy's eyes stung with tears that were brimming at the edge. She sat down on her bed, hugging her pack to her chest. That was of course a year's time away from one another; from the whole guild. That was _different._ But why does this time make her just as upset? Why did he just leave a note? Why couldn't he tell her in person...

Perhaps it was because the notice asked only for a dragon slayer, or maybe he was finally tired of the duo team. She sighed, _what was she thinking?_ He could do whatever he wanted, and it wasn't like he was going to be gone for a year again. Lucy opened her eyes, a tear slid down against her bag and she stood up. It was only a couple of weeks; that was plenty of time to prove to herself and others that she can be just as dependable as him. _ **She will prove herself.**_

Besides, she could use the break. Less drama, less destruction, and no annoyances. She smirked, it wouldn't be _that bad_. Lucy gathered up the rest of her items and started toward the train station, making sure to lock the door on her way out.

The young blonde trekked her way toward the train station, passing by rows of carts and bystanders as she drew closer to her destination. She glanced over, something catching her eye and saw a young girl who held a couple of kittens in her arms. She smiled at Lucy with bright blue eyes as she walked by. The celestial wizard paused, smiled- then instinctively turned around, "Natsu aren't they so cute?"

She paused, staring at the handful of people who were passing her by on the sidewalk and left her staring into dead space. An older gentleman bumped into her with a quiet 'sorry' before rushing forward. In that moment she finally felt it.

 _Lonely._

The little girl glanced toward where Lucy spoke and tilted her head in confusion.

"Right, I'm such a dork." She muttered and feebly laughed off the mistake and the feeling, Lucy turned around and quickly made haste toward the station for the next departure. _How embarrassing, I guess that shows how close we've become over the years. It's become a habit seeing him next to me on a mission..._ Lucy mused as she bought her ticket and stood in line. _Is it really that weird to be on a mission on my own? To not be with him?_ Lucy tried to recall the past handful of missions she attended, each of them Natsu was present. Whether they were a duo with Happy, or tag teaming with Gray or Wendy.

"Next!"

Lucy looked up to see the conductor reach out for the ticket she purchased and she dutifully handed it to him.

 _I wonder what that means. We barely have our own personal space these days, and suddenly we're back on our own- and I'm already feeling as if we've been apart for weeks._

Lucy sighed and sat down by a window seat and leaned against the frame, her breath fogging up the glass.

 _I'm such a mess. I don't need to get my emotions all riled up before a mission. I need to stay focused._

Lucy felt the jerk of the train as it started forward and she watched the trees become a green blur. Leaning back she closed her eyes, relaxed. It has been three days since Lucy found the note on her desk early in the morning. The first couple of days she stayed closed off from the guild, immersed in her writing and continuing on her series with a newfound fire and passion. But eventually she found herself bored and needed to get out of her apartment- so she decided to pay a visit to the guild this morning. Perhaps find Levy or Gray to strike up a conversation. But to her disappointment, neither were in town either. No one quite knew where Gray disappeared; much to Juvia's frantic disappointment. Seeing the water wizard so upset put a different viewpoint on her emotions from Natsu's leave of absence. Levy and Gajeel had decided to tag team on a mission close to Blue Pegasus. From what she gathered, the two of them left last night saying something about renting a nice bed and breakfast together.

Lucy smiled, remembering when her best friend told her that Gajeel and her were dating. Lucy could see the difference in not just Levy, but the iron dragon slayer as well. Both seemed to smile more, they cracked more jokes, and even played songs together on stage. Gajeel with his guitar and Levy singing. It was a beautiful romance. She loved watching every minute of it. Watching how happy she was. She almost felt... envious.

Lucy opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Did she really just think that? _Why?_ Lucy crossed her arms. No, she should just be happy. But will she eventually be as happy as Levy?

Lucy sighed and leaned against the glass as she gazed outside again.

Of course. One day. With someone.

But she knew she was lying to herself. She knew who she wanted that someone to be.

 _Don't do this to yourself Lucy._

The train barely had anyone boarding today. It was quiet. She could even hear herself breath as she watched her breath coat the window. _It was too quiet._

She looked over at the empty seats in front of her, imagining her friends sitting there. Laughing. Smiling. Joking. Erza criticizing Gray on his lack of attire and Wendy giggling with Charla. Lucy blinked and the image disappeared. She bit her lip.

 _Hopefully this mission will distract me._

Who was she kidding? This was by far going to be the worst mission she's ever accepted. Why did she do this? Lucy pulled out the notice once more and reread the article.

"Celestial wizard..." She paused and leaned back into the seat. "Yeah, the strongest wizard in fairy tail..." Lucy muttered, laced with sarcasm and oozing lack of confidence. She placed the notice on the seat beside her with a huff of frustration.

The train ride bumped across the train tracks, lulling her back into a peaceful state. But it didn't last long.

"Hey Lucy."

"Loke!" Lucy sat up and glanced to her right where the spirit sat with a renown smirk.

"So it looks like you've been summoned by someone. I'm not surprised they asked for you. You are the strongest celestial wizard to date right now."

Lucy folded her arms, "What are you doing here, I didn't summon you."

"Oh, what's with the same question. "

He continued, "You never say, "Hi Loke, I missed you" Or "Loke you're so cute" or "Loke we should share a romantic dinner one night, just the two of us."

Lucy deadpanned, "because you're my spirit, I don't just expect you to show up unannounced. It takes a toll on my magic too you know."

Loke smiled, "I came with just my own magic, you are barely supplying anything to me right now. You would have noticed earlier if that wasn't the case. I've been here for quite some time." He paused and placed a hand under his jaw, "besides, I thought we were friends, were we not? Or are we just spirits to you now?"

Lucy sighed realizing the tough spot she was placed in. "I get it, and you're wrong about them asking directly for me. It was just addressed to celestial wizards in general." She shrugged, "there are others out there."

"Yeah but in the celestial world, us spirits know where the power directly lies. Spirits envy me and the other keys you have in your possession. They heard the stories and desperately would like to be found by you. If that isn't a strong celestial wizard, I don't know what is."

Lucy smiled, "That's really sweet. But it still wasn't addressed for me directly."

"Perhaps it was indirectly?"

Lucy shrugged, "either way."

Loke gazed at her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "don't be so hard on yourself. I know you're going on this mission to prove to yourself that you are a strong wizard of your guild." He paused, "I don't think it's the smartest decision.."

"Hey!"

Loke put up a hand, "...but I will stand by you either way-you are my wizard, my battle partner and more importantly, my friend.."

"Loke..."

"Yes?"

"Could you just... you are way too close..." Lucy stammered.

Loke blinked, he was leaning into her, his face inches away from her bright red one. He pulled back and smiled, "Well it was worth a shot."

Lucy frowned, squaring her shoulders and twisting away from him so she leaned further into the window pane, their knees just scrapping together on the bumpy ride.

"This is why I don't call on you very often."

"You hurt me Lucy." Loke feigned pain and gazed away.

"Uh huh sure, cry it out buddy. You chose to come here. The least you can do is act appropriate."

"Come on I can't help it."

"You can and you will." Lucy sighed, rubbing her temples in frustration. Perhaps this wasn't going to be such a boring trip after all. She glared over toward the celestial spirit who smirked in her direction. It was going to be a _long_ mission.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the review, and I hope you have enjoyed the first chapter. This Chapter is Lucy POV with Loke POV. : Nalu : Enjoy.

* * *

 **Lucy POV**

* * *

"If you weren't so busy socializing with her we would have arrived here hours earlier AND on time!" Lucy sighed.

She had just stepped off from the train station and was currently 40 jewel shorter because of their recent reroute mistake.

"We had to board a second train passage just to get here." She continued, turning around to watch the train leave the station for the second time today. She frowned, moving her shoulders so the backpack lay flat on her back.

Loke stood nearby and shrugged, "Come on, she was cute."

"She was also like 14, aren't you too old for this kind of stuff?"

Loke laughed, "Only a few thousand of years."

"My point exactly."

"But beauty is everywhere; in every age, because age is just a number-Hey!"

Lucy glanced back to where her spirit stood alone at the entrance of the train station. The celestial wizard waved with the back of her hand as she continued to walk away.

She could hear him tsk as he raced to catch up with her. Lucy glanced around at the town entrance and looked over toward a kiosk at the edge of the station. She looked up and down at the map. Loke's hand flew forward across her vision, casting a shadow over the map.

"Wizards Hotel is a great place, we should book a stay." He paused in thought. "At least it was a few years ago…" he smiled, closing his eyes. Lucy caught the dreamy look and rolled her eyes.

"Not a chance."

Loke frowned, "what, are you planning to stay up all night?"

Lucy shook her head, "I wanted to start heading out toward the next town as soon as possible, but from the looks of it... it's already past 5 pm." She groaned, "I'd rather not walk in the dark... but it is the quickest opportunity."

Lucy took out the notice of the destination then looked at the large Fiore map on the side. She sighed.

"I don't even know where exactly this is leading me to." Lucy muttered quietly, Loke glanced over her shoulders.

"It just says edge of Shirtosame…"

 _What if Mirajane was right? What if it is a trap... What would I do?_

"Perhaps we should gather information first before he head into the lion's cage, eh?"

Lucy glanced over at her spiritual partner and he continued, "just humor me for a moment, will you?"

Lucy crossed her arms and stared at the fighting spirit.

"It's going to take what? Two, maybe three hours to get to the next town... and that's only if we can get a ride. From there we need to travel north west until we reach this "edge". But that can also take up to four or five hours. So in total we are looking at quite a bit of walking."

"We also don't know what this mission fully entails; do you think this could be a possible trap?" Lucy glanced at the paper and he continued, "I can see your hesistion, don't lie to me."

Lucy gazed back at him as he continued, "why don't we try to gather a bit of information first before we head to the next town? Book a room and stay the night. That way, early in the morning we can head over refreshed."

Lucy sighed, "fine, you win this time, what was the hotel again?"

The spirit pointed on the map and the duo found their way through the town to their evening location.

Lucy glanced up at the sign, "Wizards Hotel" they headed inside and were greeted with cool air walking up to the front desk. It was on very rare occasions that she had stayed at a hotel with her group of friends.

Typically, the team was constantly on the road; they either didn't have time or the jewel to afford a nice room for the night. Sometimes it was an added adventure and other times it was simply because Natsu demanded to walk the longer path instead of taking a train. Which of course led to few towns, so even fewer hotels. Occasionally, the group would be offered to stay in homes or served dinner for thanks from a mission. Lucy always loved those trips.

Lucy felt the cold metal of a room key slide in her hand and she thanked the management as she pocketed it in her bag.

The duo set back out and whilst sitting at a late cafe they watched the sun dare to dip over the horizon. Swirling her straw around a cup of tea she watched the liquid rotate inside the clear glass. The mission lay next to the cup, and Lucy glanced at the sheet in contemplation. It was short, sweet and to the point. But it gave little clues as to what she would be encountering. Would she have to fight to acquire the key again or was it a puzzle? She turned the paper around and sighed, wishing Levy was here to give her two cents on the idea.

"We should try to gather as much information as-" Lucy glanced up to see that her fighting spirit was no longer sitting in front of her. He stood a few steps away, leaning in toward a pretty little waitress whose face matched the flower he held in his right hand.

"Loke!"

The spirit turned around and gave a smile before turning back to a young waitress with the bright pink flower. The girl giggled and turned away as Lucy sat with her hand against her chin waiting on her flirty spirit to notice her.

"I heard you." Loke replied and slid back into his seat with a smile.

"Yeah? What did I say?"

"Hm...Well, how about this. That girl I just spoke to gave me a clue on where the best spots to find the best local gossip."

"Oh?"

He smirked, leaning forward, "I was just a step ahead of you."

"Don't get cocky." Lucy muttered and looked around the small cafe, the owner was leaning over the counter shouting that it will be closing in a half hour.

Lucy stood up, pocketing the notice and stretched, "Well let's get going then."

"Oh, but I don't think we will be going in the same direction."

"What?"

"Come on, we both know we can work our skills best alone."

"Skills? Come on Loke." She crossed her arms. What kind of skills was he talking about?

He smirked and she realized he was referring to her old flirty behavior, "You can't be serious."

"No" She crossed her arms and he quietly smiled then flung an arm around her shoulder. She felt the heat of her face burn, his actions reminding her of her fiery guild partner and his common antics.

"Come on Lucy, we have the looks, we have the talk, it's the best way to get information- you can't deny it." He leaned in closer and she ducked, leaving him stumbling forward as she took a small step away from him. Loke brushed himself off and fixed his suit with a mild frown.

She smirked at his behavior and sighed. Once again his point of view made sense.

Unfortunately, it WAS a great tactic- and it served her well when she ran away from home years ago to cheapen products or to talk her way through a sale. Lucy agreed with Loke, her voice laced with frustration and went their separate ways; soon the wizard found herself at a nearby bar that was supplied by the cafe waitress. She walked around and sparked conversations with various men, but to her disappointment, none had any specific information in regarding to celestial keys or a key found in the neighboring town. Lucy found herself travelling to two other bars, striking up conversations while continuously turning down men who desperately wanted to follow her outside and keep tabs. _Creeps_

She was beginning to doubt anyone in this town knew anything useful.

"This was just a waste of time." Lucy muttered, swirling a glass of water in front of her on her third bar attempt. She avoided alcohol for obvious reasons. She wasn't with her friends, nor was she close to fairy tail. This was a business mission, and she wasn't going to screw this up.

Truth be told- Lucy couldn't even remember the last time she did this. The last time she has been at a bar or even tried to get away with something through her fake flirtations. Perhaps she was just getting rusty, or maybe...maybe her heart really wasn't in it like it used to be. Back when she ran away, she needed a work around to keep her sanity and her funds low. Especially since she was trying to keep away from her family. When she joined fairy tail, a lot of worries just seemed to disappear along with the habits. She no longer found herself wanting to sexualize herself in public to get what she wanted. The people around her already wanted to be with her and while surprised, they seemed to accept her for it. She stared at the candle in front of her, a small flame flickering as people walked past.

No one accepted her more than her closest friend of Fairy Tail. Right from the beginning, Natsu accepted her. He asked no questions, he didn't care about her past and when she was threatened to return home and leave the guild, he fought for her. She stared at the candle, as if seeing the fire wizard lighting a fire in the dead of the night. Without him, she would have never been a member of Fairy tail. She would have never had the guild to call home or the friends she could run to when she needed them. She still has a lot to owe him.

There was a sudden loud commotion up front. Lucy glanced up to see flames shooting into the air toward the ceiling before tapering off with the awe of the crowd gathered. She felt herself getting pushed as people raced toward the front of the bar to see the spectacle.

"Natsu?"

Lucy sat up from the table and started forward, confused.

"But why would he be here?'

She pushed around a couple who glared at her until she found herself in the front of the crowd.

"Nats-" She started but fell quiet. Instead of the fire wizard she saw a hooded young lady and a gentleman.

The couple turned toward her shout and glanced at her, smiling, the box in front of them read: Fire Magic. Lucy watched him take a swig of liquid and the hooded lady lit a match as he spit up, in the act to breath fire. She frowned, disappointed. They had nothing against Natsu, they were just imitators. Letting off a sigh, she backed up from the crowd and glanced at the exit.

 _What is up with me today?_ That was the second time she did that. It was as if she couldn't get the boy out of her mind. They really have became close, every little thing reminded her of the fire wizard. As if she expected him to just appear. Shaking her head she crossed her arms, walking outside in the cool evening air.

"Heyy"

A shadow towered over Lucy and she frowned at the young man staring at her, as if undressing her with his eyes. He reached out and she pulled away from his grasping hands. He frowned.

"Go away." Lucy muttered and the young man crossed his arms and replied, "not when you're dressed like that. You're just asking for me to-"

"I said go away!" Lucy snapped, she turned to glare at him. The dark haired boy placed his hand on her shoulder, his middle finger lifting the bra strap under her shirt. Lucy instinctively leaned down, pushed up with her shoulder and squared him in the chin. She watched him fall onto the sidewalk and she put her foot on his chest with a frown. Lucy crossed her arms as she held him there.

"Go home."

"You want to make me?" The young man spat and Lucy rolled her eyes.

She raised her arm to show off her pink Fairy Tail Emblem.

"You know what this is? It's a Fairy Tail emblem." She paused as he gazed at her hand, she figured he must have been too drunk to understand her- so she spelled it out for him.

"You have two options. Either stay here and keep pestering me and see what happens... or you can go home and keep your pride. The choice is yours."

The man grabbed at her foot and she sighed, letting him scramble to his feet; and just as he was about to say something in rebuttal- she threw a punch then landed a kick that threw him across the street. The boy smacked into the nearby shop wall across the street, dazed.

"That's _without_ my powers." Lucy stated. She pulled out her keys and held them up for him to see. He scrambled to his feet and threw up his hands, "Oh...uh- Wizard, don't hurt me please!" She smirked watching the man race away from the street, barely missing a magic vehicle in his haste.

Lucy bit her lip, cradling her stinging hand from the punch, _'I forgot how much that hurt'_

"You could try to be a little more seductive. That was painful to watch."

Lucy spun around to see Loke leaning against the bar and she frowned, "how long have you been there?"

"Enough." He laughed. She frowned.

"You know, You could just say hello like any other normal person."

"But what would the fun in that be?" Loke replied.

Lucy sighed and continued, "Besides, he was a jerk."

"I saw. But the drunk ones always give away the best information."

Lucy shook her head, "I don't think I can stoop to that level anymore."

"How dignified of you." Loke smirked and Lucy crossed her arms, "I'm not the one that takes people to bed every chance I get."

He frowned, "That's not true."

"Prove me wrong then."

Loke shrugged his shoulders, "Perhaps, but not right now. I'm not all as bad as you seem to make me out to be. I think I'm a great double agent for yours truly."

"That makes me feel better." She muttered sarcastically, pulling a hair away from her face and tucking it behind her ear.

"I got some information from a couple young ladies." Loke continued, ignoring her comment, "Apparently there are rumors of a town flooding without any sign of rain for weeks."

Lucy tapped her chin, "Sounds a lot like aquarius to me." Loke nodded, "most likely."

Lucy frowned, "Wait, if you and aquarius live in the same world, can't you just ask her?"

Loke shrugged, "we don't exactly get along." He laughed rubbing his neck and Lucy folded her arms.

"Seriously? We just wasted this whole evening and you could have easily just asked her?"

"Hey now, It's not that easy- and there is that whole time difference between our worlds." He continued and Lucy sighed, _'he probably just wanted to waste time'_

"Forget it, fine, let's just go back to the hotel."

Loke smirked and Lucy glared at him, "on second thought, I'll be closing your gate when I get there. Just one bed anyway."

Loke frowned, "you hurt me Lucy, I would never think about taking advantage of you."

Lucy rolled her eyes, "tell it to the judge."

When they arrived at the front of the hotel she turned and crossed her arms, "you can do it the easy way or the hard way."

Loke put up his hands and sighed, "fine I get it."

"Actually-" Lucy hesitated, paused and crossed her arms, "why are you here anyway?"

He tilted his head listening as she continued, "I know you tend to come and go as you please sometimes, but this time you have stuck with me through the whole day. Why is that?"

Loke smiled, "Well that's an easy one." Loke leaned forward and touched her nose with his index finger and smiled, "Because I care."

Lucy blushed, staring as his form shattered into golden crystals and he was no longer standing in front of her.

"Ugh Loke!" She cried out, brushing her nose and throwing his key back on her chain across her hip in agitation. She sighed, turning toward the doors of the hotel and stepped inside.

"Geez, are you vague enough.." Lucy muttered quietly, the staff looked up as she passed by to the stairs and headed to the second floor. She already knew he cared about her, just as much as she cared for him- and all of her other spirits. They were her family... but this was different. He's never been the clingy spirit. While he is flirty, he never voiced wanting to travel alone with her before.

She walked up to her room and opened the door and fell into the bed staring up at the ceiling.

She couldn't be angry about that. Especially when she was worried about someone else right now. She watched the shadows rise on the ceiling and dance across the panels until the room fell dark. Closing her eyes she imagined gaining back her lost celestial friend and a smile touched her lips.

* * *

 **Loke POV**

* * *

A shadow crossed over Lucy as Loke stood nearby watching the blonde sleep quietly. He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she slept alone in the dark hotel room. The spirit sat down at the edge of the bed and looked up at the open window. The moon crested, shining light down onto her figure. He crossed his arms and let a soft sigh escape.

"I was only being halfway honest with you." Loke whispered. He looked back over toward the sleeping blonde.

"I'm also keeping a promise for a friend."

Four Months Earlier

During the battle with Zeref, the plenty of demon monsters and those pinned against Fairy Tail- the celestial wizard had tried her best to keep up with all the guild members. But with all the chaos, it was a difficult task. Loke took it upon himself to answer to her calls and when she asked him to tail Natsu on his mission to defeat Zeref with his newfound training, he couldn't turn her down. Her face expressed how desperate she was for his help. Her hands were tied and with Natsu taking off once again without much warning to end the war with Zeref, there was little the celestial wizard could do. The earthland was at war and her best friend was willing to risk his life for it.

Loke understood. More than he let on. So he followed him, and while he was far from stopping the fire wizard, he could still remember hearing the fighting. He found him, and his little cat Happy passed out. Natsu was beaten- but smiling, of course Loke wasn't surprised he won the latest fight he had picked. The fighting spirit wondered how many lives the fire wizard even had. As a celestial spirit, Loke had no trouble jumping head first into battle. He knew he was contracted and immortal when it regarded earthland, so he had nothing to worry about. But Natsu, well, he was human-or for the most part. Lucy had informed Loke of Natsu and his past, keeping him updated so he in turn can update her if anything changed. She was trying to find ways to save him, it was admirable but at the time...seemed almost futile. He couldn't remember why the conversation was brought up, but when Natsu asked about his presence he commented that Lucy asked him to follow the fire wizard as a direct order. He could still see the surprise on the dragon slayers face and the smile that lit up.

"I can always count on Lucy." Loke remembered him saying. His belittling, demanding question of why Loke was there in the first place- had turned into a calm smile when the blonde was brought up. He could tell that he loved the fact she thought about him enough to send a spirit, using her own magic to check on him. Because he needed a moment to heal, the two of them had a short conversation in regards to the celestial wizard. The topic was serious when they began speaking about Zeref and the future possibilities.

"Loke...I can't always protect her...when I'm not around, can you….can you protect her for me?"

Loke had been taken aback by the unusual comment. It was unlike the wizard to not only ask for help but comment on anything that regarded any emotional value. Protecting Lucy seemed to be a high priority, though Fairy Tail itself was a high priority for the wizard as well. Seeing as though he had no family, it was no surprise that he was so protective. The battle torn wizard had half closed eyes during the rare serious conversation.

"Natsu, you're going to come out of this alive you know."

Loke had been informed of the dark secret that Natsu was keeping between his closest friends. As far as the spirit was aware, only a select few knew the truth behind Zeref and Natsu. Few knew the consequences.

"We both don't know that." Natsu muttered then smiled, "but I'd like to think that too."

That had surprised him, he rarely gave out a hint of weakness. Loke almost had lost his train of thought during the process but realized the tough spot the wizard was placed in.

"You're not one to to give up so easily, so I'd imagine so. It's your greatest weakness... and strength."

"So, my request?" Natsu asked again, sitting up from the rubble and stretching. Loke watched the wizard pick up the unconscious blue cat and held him in his arms. Loke had assumed that Natsu was worried that there was a chance that he may not come out alive. Crossing his arms, the spirit had realized how much he really did care for his celestial master and a wave of admiration washed over him. Even though it shown weakness and hit his pride, Natsu asked for his help- _just in case_. Loke didn't have to agree to those terms to protect the wizard. Lucy will always be protected by him as long as she held his key. He did owe her his life.

"I will always protect her." Loke replied. Natsu smiled in return, "thank you."

"Will you do the same for me?"

Natsu tilted his head in confusion when he had asked the rebuttal question. Loke continued, "if something happened to me or the spirits, you'll keep looking after her right?"

Natsu had laughed, "What kind of question is that?"

Loke frowned at his carefree attitude-this was the Natsu he remembered; "I'm serious Natsu!"

Natsu laughed then moaned, grabbing his split side and he held in the pain with gritted teeth, "...you already know that answer anyway."

Loke smirked watching the fire wizard sit up from the pain and shake it off and replied, "I suppose you're right."

"I wonder who is going to protect us though." Loke continued and Natsu laughed with a shrug.

Loke gazed at Lucy and sighed, "you are too much trouble trying so hard to prove yourself all by yourself."

He smirked and leaned back into the wall, "But you'll never be alone. I swear it."

 _Natsu would kill me_

 _And I could never forgive myself if anything happened._

* * *

Thank you for reading, leave a review if you enjoy it so far. The next chapter will be introducing Natsu POV. Keep an eye out for it in the next couple of weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you for your reviews they really encourage me! :) This chapter is based on **Lucy POV** then **Natsu POV.** Enjoy.

* * *

 **Lucy POV**

* * *

There were hundreds, if not thousands that poured from the gate. She could feel the air thicken with smoke and for the first time in a long time, she felt her hairs stand and legs shake uncontrollably.

"What can I do..?" She whispered. A bead of sweat passed between her eyes and she watched the dirty droplet drip onto her torn shoes and skirt. Holes burned through her blouse and she could no longer feel the many scratches that she worn across each arm.

"This is...this is impossible...I…" Tears dared to fall as she heard screams of people that she probably knew, who were just across the street.

Lucy was backed up against the wall, shadows darting in and out of her vision as she watched buildings crash around her, smoke and debris filling her vision.

"Lucy!"

The blonde turned to look to her left, seeing a familiar face race toward her; Wendy's usual blue hair coated in red and black. The wind dragon slayer looked just as worn as everyone else she had come across. But... she was the first to be alive. Lucy grabbed the edge of the building as the ground shook, almost knocking her to her knees.

"Oh, my gods," Lucy screamed and raced toward the dragon slayer, happy to finally see someone she recognized. There was a screech above and Lucy ducked as fire filled the street once more. She watched Wendy dart away in another building across the street while Lucy quickly took refuge under a bus stop. She held the metal gratings while watching large beasts cast their shadows on a town where people were desperately trying to flee.

It was a fatal mistake. The eclipse gate was opened... and before any of the guilds could react, hundreds of dragons had poured from the depths. The four main dragon slayers that were present had immediately started toward them and left many of the guilds fighting on their own. But when 10 dragons... then 50 dragons... then 100 dragons poured from the gate...the guilds were forced to split up. From fear...and for their life. People she just met at the games...she watched them burn to death, she watched them get smashed underfoot or severed by a sharp tail or talon. She shut her eyes trying to block out the screams. Lucy initially ran alongside Gray and Erza, but they too were eventually split up by a trio of dragons... and she hasn't seen them since.

"Lucy!" The blonde looked over toward Wendy who cowered under the entrance of a bookstore. She didn't see Charla and wondered where the white feline was at. There was a sharp gurgle and the beat of the wings as two dragons suddenly clashed and fell into the building Wendy took shelter inside.

Lucy instinctively started forward, seeing her friend suddenly engulfed from the rubble and chaos, disappearing from sight.

"Wendy!" Lucy screamed, but a tail of a bright yellow dragon stopped her cold. She took out her keys, tears stained her eyes seeing how many were missing or broken then picked one of the remaining few left to her.

"Come forth, the key of the bull! Taurus!"

The spirit transformed, fear plastered on his face and she asked him to try to remove the rubble from the building that just toppled.

The two dragons continued to thrash about nearby and when Taruous was smacked aside, Lucy instinctively raced toward the scene and desperately tried to throw bricks off herself.

"Please, no...Wendy!" She shoved a handful of bricks away, feeling the heat of a dragon's breath course nearby as they continued to fight one another.

Pulling a large rock aside, Lucy saw the frail light hand, motionless, and tears crowded at her eyes.

"No...please…" she mumbled, she scratched and dug at the bricks desperately trying to free her friend. But knowing full well...she was never going to speak to her again. She could feel the earth rumble underneath her feet and she felt herself almost slip to the ground.

There was a flash of light and Lucy saw the flames from the dragon, she knew...she knew even if she tried to run, she would get burned.

Closing her eyes she accepted the fate, perhaps she could just pretend...pretend she has Natsu's power... _Fire...fire won't hurt me…_

The heat slammed into her yet she felt no burn. _Wow...that worked better than I thought..._

"Lucy, what the hell are you doing!"

Startled, she opened her eyes and looked up to see her hero, blocking the flames and taking them for himself. He ducked and pushed her down, avoiding the slam of a tail of a dragon and grabbed the blonde under the legs and leaped away.

"Natsu, wait, stop please no...!"

He glanced at her and mumbled, "I'm not leaving you with three dragons like that-..." he took in a breath, "-come on we need to stick together from now on..."

She fought against him and forcefully yanked at his shirt. He paused behind a building that barely seemed to stand and hid away from the chaos around them.

"Wendy…" She moaned, tears daring to stream down her face, curling her fist into his shirt in anger.

He stared at her with dark eyes and lowered his head, lowering Lucy back to her feet and took in a slow breath, "I know...I know..I swear I know."

He sounded tired, and when she looked at him, his face black with soot...his hands were curiously red and she saw his eyes- bloodshot.

Something happened. Who was it? She fidgeted with her shirt and leaned into Natsu's shoulder, letting the tears fall. He leaned against the wall and draped his arm across her shoulder and they were quiet, soaking in the screams of the people around them for a moment.

"I don't know what to do." Lucy stated and Natsu stared into the distance then glanced at her, "we fight...for our friends...the best we can."

He hesitated and for the first time she saw doubt in his eyes, she wiped her tears away with her dirty sleeve and whispered, "What happened….?"

He looked at her, she could feel the pain that seared into his heart, "I couldn't save him…"

"I wasn't watching...I wasn't paying attention."

He gritted his teeth after a moment then slammed his right fist into the brick behind him, startling her.

"Damn it all!" He screamed and she could see the tears brimming at his eyes. She looked around and realized who was missing…

"Not...Happy…"

Natsu shut his eyes then took a breath, he grabbed her arm and stared at her, "I don't want him sacrificing himself to be in vain. I need to fight, will you help me?"

She could feel herself nodding and her vision blurred as it turned dark around the edges, his pain flooding into her heart, the agony, the anger...the sadness. The yearning...When her vision cleared she could see the notes of a plan...a plan to travel back in time...something only a powerful celestial wizard can do. Lucy looked up to see Levy covered in medical rags, Natsu laid on the floor sharing bread they had recently found in a local bakery. Blinking she felt that a lot of time had gone by...but she wasn't sure how much. Natsu and Levy, while looked beaten, covered in rags and tired...looked about the same as before.

She blinked and felt splatters of water across her hands. Staring, she realized she was crying.

Levy looked up with a frown, "Lucy...you don't have to do this..I...I don't think it will guarantee to change anything." Her hand was shaking as she wrote magic across the paper for her friend to guide her to the eclipse gate.

Lucy felt herself take control, remembering why they were together, huddling in a dark cellar under the city. Like rats...barely surviving in this brand new world.

"I have to try...I have to close that gate...I know I can convince myself and if not...I always have you guys."

Natsu glanced up and nodded, "I'm sure I'll believe you...if I saw a future Lucy come by- I wouldn't hesitate to help her."

Lucy smiled then frowned as Levy handed her the sheet and continued, "these are the directions...can you make it ok?" Lucy hesitated reading them then felt a firm hand on her shoulder to see Natsu smiling down at her.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Lucy huffed with a sly smile, "you saying I'm not strong enough?"

Natsu glanced at the missing keys at her side and Lucy frowned, "I know..don't say it." she mumbled and he ruffled her hair before stretching, "I wasn't going to say anything about your powers... I'll always protect you, Lucy." The two glanced at one another and shared a smile. Levy paused in her writing to share in the rare moment. Natsu glanced at the sheet of paper, "when do you think you'll be ready? I'm ready for this hell to be over…"

"If it can be." Levy corrected him and Natsu nodded quietly.

Lucy swallowed at the question, "There's a lot...on my shoulders."

Natsu smiled, "nothing you can't handle."

She stared at the paper and felt her vision fade away again...as if being swallowed by darkness...falling...falling...Screaming. She heard screaming..No. She was screaming.

"Natsu!"

She was pinned up against a wall, Natsu lay against her, arms spread as if using his body for a shield...a shield…The ground rumbled underneath her again, making her unsteady.

The darkness slipped away and she felt herself scream in pain. Scream in anger and agony.

"I told you to pay attention…" Natsu mumbled, falling forward.

Lucy looked past him to see the dark dragon that struck his claw through the dragon slayers chest.

"Natsu...no, you were going to come with me! Please, I don't want to do this alone!"

The dragon slayer smiled, "we both knew that wasn't going to happen...who wants to go to the past anyway? Sounds…." He paused for breath, "sounds pretty boring…"

She watched the dragon rip away the talon from her best friend and he cried out in pain.

"It's right there, GO!" He growled toward the eclipse gate, but instead, she stared at the gaping wound in his chest...there's no way he could heal that...Not by himself...

"No- you're my best friend!" She reached out and grabbed his shirt, soaked red and black.

Natsu stared at her, forcing a pained smile and gently grabbed her right hand, "you're my best friend too…Don't stop...don't stop because of me..."

She reached for him but she saw the dragon rear back, preparing for another attack.

"Please, Lucy." She heard him beg and saw the desperation that leaked in his eyes, "you can change time, I know you can." She hesitated and pulled away, knowing full well she couldn't drag him and her away safely toward the gate in time. This was the hardest thing she ever had to do. Time seemed to almost slow down as she took a step away, feeling her eyes burn and heart sear with regret. Turning around she made speed toward the eclipse gate, the ground shaking as much as her hands were. Lucy knew better than to look back... _but she did it anyway._ Glancing behind her she watched the dark dragon swipe Natsu aside, his body limp. She felt her chest tighten as she turned away and fled up the steps until she stopped in front of the gate, running for him...for her friends...for her future. The rumbling intensified, she could hear glass shattering.

"Natsu…." She whispered then closed her fist, her heart aching from everything she has lost.

She screamed, tears boiling over her eyes as she leaned against the gate, desperately trying to use her powers; the paper Levy gave her shaking so hard she could barely read the incantations. The ground became unsteady shaking as if a thousand dragons were daring to burst from underneath her. Fear, sadness, uncertainty enveloped her as she felt the warmth of her friend fade from her right hand.

"Ahhhh!" She cried, closing her fists and the world suddenly turned white.

"Ahhh!"

'Thud!'

She felt pain vibrate across her side as she snapped her eyes open, scrambling to sit up and realizing she was no longer in her soft hotel bed. Blinking she felt the sweat drip down her back and sat up on the floor, pulling back a wet hair from her eyes. She flicked the cold sweat away and took a few breaths. She looked around, noticing various trinkets across the floor and a couple paintings that lay beside her. She grabbed one of the paintings and stared at it with confusion.

Hearing voices of many people outside she scrambled to her feet and instinctively grabbed her bag and flung open the door, preparing for the worst. Poking her head out she saw hordes of families wandering around in the hallway or looking out their door. A few kids screamed in the hallway, filled with both fear and excitement. She heard the screaming.. _. just like in her nightmare._

"Gods...what...what's going on?" She was still groggy from her dream, fists tight and legs shaking.

A few families greeted her with worried looks, an older gentleman nearby glanced at her, "That's the third earthquake around here this week! I swear I can never get used to it though."

"An...earthquake?" Lucy repeated and the man nodded, ushering the kids back into the room after the mild panic. Lucy looked back into her room and saw the damage. That was quite the strong shaking to cause all the pictures to fall from the wall.

Lucy groaned, walking back to her room and sat on her bed throwing her bag back on the ground beside her. The celestial wizard glanced at the clock that lay across the floor with a crack in the center of it.

It read 2 am.

That was way _too_ early. Yawning she lay back on her bed, glancing at the stars sparkling in the sky.

"Earthquakes.." Lucy mumbled. As she shut her eyes the vision of her dream flooded beneath her lids. It seemed so...realistic...like a memory. She sighed and rolled to her side trying to block the screaming...trying to forget watching her friend's final breaths. That was by far the most terrifying dream she has yet to imagine. Why would she dream something like that? Was it connected to the future Lucy...was that... _was that her memory?_ Did that actually happen... She felt her eyes tighten, counting her blessings for how lucky her world was compared to her (past) futures own. Swallowing she hugged her pillow tight, burrowing her face into it. What would it feel like to lose...everything….? _Natsu..._

A tear slide down her cheek as she held the pillow tightly, letting her fears subside until she drifted herself back to sleep.

* * *

 **Natsu POV**

* * *

"Natsu I'm so hungry, I'm going to eat this rock."

The fire wizard glanced over toward his floating cat who held a large rock between his two paws; Natsu smirked. "That can't be good for you."

"Besides, I'm hungry too, but the town is just up ahead, we'll get some grub there!"

"You said that an hour ago!" Happy whined, letting the rock fall back to the ground with a loud 'thump!'.

"We've been in these woods for hours! Why couldn't we just take the train Natsu?" Happy continued with a frown.

Natsu huffed and crossed his arms against the afternoon sunlight, "Come on, it's more fun this way."

Happy wasn't convinced.

"You just didn't want to ride the train! It's been three days and we haven't even got to our town yet."

Natsu shrugged, "I thought you were wanting to work out anyway, didn't you say something like that?"

Happy grumbled something about Charla under his breath and Natsu smirked. Natsu looked up hearing footsteps and noticed a small family traveling their way; a young couple with a few kids dashing around the parents in excited loops.

"I want to be in the competition too mommy, can I please?" A little girl begged.

The mother glanced down, her large backpack seeming to weigh her down.

"No sweetie, only a celestial wizard can participate in that competition. You don't have any keys to use."

The little girl huffed then stated it was unfair and dumb, the two little boys who ran around her almost smacked into Natsu- who had to pause on the road to let them pass. The father gave a look of apology and continued on their way.

"A competition for celestial wizards..?" Happy repeated and looked back at the family who started into the woods from where they came.

"I wonder where that's at? Do you think Lucy knows about it?"

Natsu shrugged, looking back at them for a moment before turning back toward his destination, "I wouldn't be surprised if she heard about it."

"You think she went all alone?"

"Nah, she has tons of friends- I'm sure she went with another guild member."

Happy looked down at the dragon slayer and sighed, "Natsu… why couldn't Lucy come along with us?"

Natsu looked up, "well, I didn't think she would want to come along."

Happy frowned, "-but you didn't even ask her!"

He shrugged, "...what's wrong with just us buddy?"

Happy cast his eyes against the ground, his ears folded, "nothing, I guess..."

Natsu stared at his floating companion and he reached out to pet his head with a smile, "we'll ask her to come with us on the next one, is that ok?"

"Lucy wouldn't have made us walk for three days…" Happy mumbled, ignoring him.

"Hey!" Natsu cried out taking back his hand in mock hurt, and Happy continued, "and she would have brought snacks and drinks and told stories…"

Natsu crossed his arms, "I can tell you stories."

Happy glanced at him, "not as good as Lucy's. She is an author after all. Besides, you never finish your stories and they all are about you.."

Natsu huffed then sighed hearing his stomach grumble, "yeah, yeah...ok, I miss her too, but we've been on our own before, this won't be any different."

Happy sighed then fell silent.

Natsu stared at the little cat, a little surprised by the outburst. Happy had always enjoyed being around Lucy just as much as he did. Sometimes even more- begging to ask her on missions and to ALL the guild events. The little cat would always stick with her if he was busy, so it wasn't a surprise how much he missed her. But he would be lying to himself if he didn't miss her on the same calibration _. But he had his reasons._ Natsu glanced back toward the path, staring at the trees that divided between them.

It has been a long time since he went on a mission with just Happy. If he had to recall, the last time was during the solo mission with Zeref and the year's training mission from hell. While being on their own for that year was exciting, it lacked a lot of things he truly desired. Getting back to Fairy Tail after reforming them, he found himself back with friends and people who genuinely wanted to be together... like _a family_. He smiled, it was the only family he had. But he wouldn't change it. Placing his hands behind his back and stretching he realized how uncommon it really was to not be on a mission with another guild member. Especially Lucy. Letting out a breath he looked up toward the sky; it wasn't that he didn't want to ask her on the mission. It was quite the opposite; hell, she seemed to make the trips a lot more fun. But... this mission was different.

Natsu pulled out the crumpled notice in his pocket, the edges creased from being balled up for so long. He stared at the notice which distinctly read: "Dragonslayers only."

The notice continued to warn the user of the dangers and specified only the dragon slayers were required for this job. Apparently, from various rumors, there was a possibility of a dragon terrorizing the town. Natsu was beyond curious- but he stayed doubtful, after the war- all the dragons should have ceased to exist entirely. The notice was also vague in the description, so he felt himself er to the side of caution.

Natsu shoved the notice back inside his pocket. It was a bummer that she wasn't tagging alongside them, especially for far away missions such as these. Not only were they close friends and the trip was far less boring with her, she was someone he could always depend on. With her set of powers in combination with his, they were practically unstoppable. If his fire dragon slaying magic didn't do the trick, her celestial magic would always come through for them. The blonde could hold her own in most situations, but he never quite liked seeing her go on missions alone. Her magic was quite different than his own, and many of the others in the guild.

While very powerful in her own right, she had a large weakness. Natsu sighed quietly; without her keys, Lucy was very vulnerable. He would prefer to be nearby if that situation would arise. It's not that he didn't trust anyone else in the guild or trust that Lucy could come through on her own. But it was just a security and a risk he didn't want to take. He can't guarantee someone else will give their all to fight alongside her during those dangerous situations. But he can never deny how intelligent and strong the celestial wizard was. If Lucy was truly going to enter in a competition, there was little he needed to worry about. Although, his heart ached a little. He wished he could be there to watch her kick butt.

There was movement up ahead and Natsu saw various carts of families gathering up ahead on the pathway. He smiled, realizing they were finally coming upon a town. Looking up he waved to Happy.

"Hey, look up ahead!"

Happy flew up and smiled with a cry, "A town!"

Natsu smirked, "I'll race you there!"

Natsu peeled away with Happy pulling his wings back, "I'll win for-" The little cat paused and glanced back hearing a snap of a branch far off, "hello...?" He stared into the woods, swearing he saw a shadow race through the trees. Feeling like they were being followed- Happy took off toward Natsu who was a few yards ahead of him.

"Natsu, Natsu I think-" **THUD**

The blue cat ran into Natsu's shoulders and backed up to look in awe alongside him. Many young adults and kids were filtering in and out of the nearby town. A large red, black and silver banner was hung up across the entrance. A couple of adults stood nearby with sticks that sparkled and popped, while other children raced around with colorful outfits. A little girl giggled as she ran out toward them, she smiled wearing an outfit depicting a green dragon. She raced around Natsu and screamed in delight when another little girl in a purple dragon outfit began chasing her.

"Roar!" The little girl cried out, the other one screamed and feigned fright, falling to the floor.

Happy landed on Natsu's shoulders, "looks like you have your work cut out for you."

"What do you mean?"

"Dragons everywhere!" Happy cried out, as two more kids wearing dragon outfits poured from the town and raced toward the girls.

One of the girls on the ground started giggling so hard she got the hiccups.

"Well, those are the cutest dragons I've seen." Natsu replied, "I wonder if this is the town we were looking for?"

Happy shrugged and flew down to the four kids who were beginning to wrestle with one another. He touched down on the grass and reached out to tap the nearest little boy in a red outfit.

"Hey...do you happen to know…"

The little boy smiled in delight when he saw Happy and screamed, "Kitty!"

Happy was suddenly engulfed with many little hands as the kids grabbed him with excited screams, "talking kitty! Blue kitty!"

Natsu laughed, watching Happy struggle to get out of their grasp, crying out, "no I'm not a toy I'm a cat! A live cat!" One of the little girls grabbed his tail and pulled so hard that Happy cried out in pain. Natsu shook his head leaning over and snatching the cat from their little hands. Happy gratefully flew in the sky, keeping his distance away from them.

"Demons! Look out Natsu, half of my fur was pulled out!" Happy cried out in despair, holding his tail.

Natsu laughed, "come on you just don't know how to talk to them." The kids looked up at Happy with disappointed looks and Natsu crouched down to their level to gain their attention.

"So, you guys like dragons?"

The four kids turned toward him with wide smiles, and screamed, "yes!"

Natsu smiled and flicked his finger, lighting it on fire. The kids all "awed" and Natsu smirked then lit up his whole hand. The kids screamed out in excitement and raced up close to him, surrounding the fire wizard.

"How you do that," They ask in unison, their eyes huge.

Natsu smiled and stood up so the fire wasn't too close to them.

"It's a dragon secret."

The kids all cooed in unison and looked at one another before turning back to Natsu who flicked his finger for the fire to disappear.

"That's not all I can do, watch this!"

He gathered his breath and shot a small fireball in the sky- then another. The kids all cried out, one of the little boys who wore orange crumpled his fist and held in his breath then let it out as if to try it on his own.

Natsu laughed, "nice try."

The kids frowned when they realized they couldn't do it themselves.

"I can't do it!" One of the girls cried out and another nodded, the little boy in red looked up at Natsu, "teach us, teach us!"

Natsu laughed and held up his hands, "whoa whoa. I can't do that for free you know." He smirked and leaned down to the interested kids. Happy glanced over with a confused expression.

"You got to do something for me first." Natsu continued with a raised index finger.  
"What's that?" The little girl in green asked, the four curious kids watching him. Happy landed back on the ground and watched his companion with curious eyes.

"First You have to tell me where you live, and second why you're dressed up like that." He poked at the boy who wore red in front of him and he giggled in response. The four kids looked around and the girl in green scooted her feet, "Um well, Tallon, our town, has this festival, it's the festival of dragons."

"Oh?" Natsu replied and one of the little boys continued, "Yeah we all dress up as dragons and us kids get candy when we go up to some of the adults! If we scare someone we sometimes get toys as prizes." The girl in purple smiled, "Yeah, it's super duper fun and there are games, food and the adults have contests and..oh and there's a play!" All the kids shouted in excitement.

"Wow, that sounds... really fun actually." He glanced at Happy with a frown, "how come fairy tail doesn't have a festival of dragons?"

"Probably because dragons have been known to try destroying the town." Happy explained referencing acnologia. Natsu shrugged and looked back at the kids, "thanks for the information guys." He smiled, hesitated then continued, "...but are there any real dragons here?"

"I AM a real dragon!" the little girl in purple huffed and Natsu laughed then patted her head, "you're a very scary dragon indeed, I wouldn't want to fight you." She puffed out her chest and the little boy in red followed suit with a smile. The last little boy in orange clamored over to him and stared at him with large blue eyes, "can you teach us now?"

"Oh right," Natsu replied and rubbed the back of his head, tsking his forgetful nature. The three other kids glanced over at him with high interest.

Happy shook his head, flying up to land on the fire wizards shoulder and pointed out, "it's probably not best for kids to learn that."

Natsu ignored his friend and continued, "This is strictly a dragon secret so you have to keep it between you four is that clear?"

The kids glanced at one another then nodded in excitement.

Natsu clapped his hands together, "First you have to have the confidence. You have to believe you can do it. Without it, magic would be nothing." The kids nodded and he continued, "Deep down there is an energy called Ethernano, you can feel it build up as energy inside as you gather it from the air."

Happy placed his paw under his chin watching the kids stop moving, listening to Natsu.

"I wouldn't listen to him if I were you." The blue cat muttered with a shake of his head, only ten percent of the population could actually use magic. He was pretty much setting them up for failure. The four kids glanced up toward Happy. Natsu threw his shoulder up and Happy toppled to the floor, a couple of the kids giggled, "Whos the fire dragon here, you or me?" Happy sighed, laying on the ground. "You're just a big kid."

Natsu smiled turning back to the four tiny dragon kids, "Ok, last you have to close your eyes, and gather that energy." The kids shut their eyes and Natsu continued, "shut them as hard as you can- there you go, gather that energy, do you guys have it? Do you feel it?" The kids all shouted "Yes!"

Natsu kneeled down and smirked, Happy watched with curious eyes as Natsu replied, "Ok, keep your eyes closed...and in the count of three, release your energy with your biggest roar! Then open your eyes." The kids all shouted-agreeing and Happy watched as Natsu counted down and lit a small fireball for each of the kids so as they opened their eyes they each saw a small ball of light escaping from them.

All four of the children cried out in unison and danced around in excitement before taking off back toward the town screaming they were real dragons now.

Happy glanced up at Natsu who watched the kids depart, "that was exhausting to watch."

Natsu laughed, "come on they were adorable, it's nice to see somewhere that actually likes dragons for a change."

Happy sighed, "yeah, well, you didn't get your tail pulled."  
"Aw-" Natsu leaned down and let the cat climb up his shoulder once again and pout, "-I'm sure you'll survive." He rubbed his head in comfort.

"They weren't that bad, besides, I found out that we're at the right town and there is a festival going on. So that's pretty exciting."

Happy leaned down, his paws dangling off Natsu's shoulder and glanced at the fire wizard, "isn't it weird to have a festival of dragons when you were asked to exterminate one?"

Natsu paused and frowned, "Yeah I guess you're right…" He took out the paper again which read specifically about needing a dragon slayer and a nuisance unknown dragon.

"If those are the dragons- then this will be the easiest mission yet." Natsu pointed out and Happy nodded.

"And the hardest." Happy muttered.

Natsu glanced at him before pocketing the paper, "I'm sure it was just a mistake or a coincidence."

The two of them started forward as families filtered in and out of the town. The duo noticed various ages who wore costumes that resembled the reptile family. His eyes widened seeing an older gentleman who wore a helmet in the shape of a dragons head. He was handing out sparklers to the younger kids nearby.

As they entered the town Happy flew up in excitement, "Do you smell that?"

The looked at one another with a wide smile, "food!"

Looking ahead of them they saw hundreds of stands that offered various types of edible items. The smells waivered over to the two of them as they took it all in.

"Hello, welcome, do you want to try our new bbq slider?"

Natsu glanced over at a young man who held out a small tray toward him and continued, "it's our new specialty."

"Uh, duh!" Natsu immediately took the whole tray, the man paused as if to say he was only allowed one- but didn't reply in time as Natsu downed the samples all in just a few mere seconds. Happy snatched one mid-air and nommed on it. Natsu handed back the empty tray with a smile, "hey, thanks those were great!"

"Uh...yeah there's more...you will have to pay for at our shop though…"

But the two of them were no longer paying him any mind as Natsu and Happy saw people passing them by with hundreds of food options. Fish, pork, wraps, sushi, fruits and vegetables of all types. Fried and candied. Their mouths watered.

"Have we just died and came to heaven?"

"I think so!"

The two of them raced to shop to shop trying the different freebies before landing at a ramen shop, sitting down with a large bowl for each of them.

"Soooo good!" Happy cried out, dunking his head in the bowl, noodles sticking to his ears as he sat up. The man behind the counter laughed, "I'm glad you two like it, it's a homemade recipe." People nearby stared at Happy and the cat looked up, shaking the noodles off him.

"It's like people never seen a cat before." He muttered.

Natsu glanced over at the blue cat and tilted his head, "I don't think a lot of people see talking cats around here, or any exceeds in general it seems."  
Happy frowned and leaned back into his bowl of noodles mumbling, "yeah I guess."

Natsu sat up and pushed his second empty bowl away. He leaned back and stretched, feeling twice as happy now that he was no longer hungry.

Natsu looked out on the open pathway between the shops where many people were gathered.

This was quite a large town and in a way reminded him a bit of fairy tail with all the hustle and bustle. There was a small commotion nearby and his eyes caught a young blonde girl who stood at the center of attention. He stared at the long hair that traced her back, a large cloak that hung across her shoulders. As she lifted her arms he saw dark red flames shoot across her body. There was a sudden commotion of panic throughout the crowd and he instinctively leaped off his seat onto the ground.

" _Natsu! I'm on fire, you set me on fire!"_

 _Looking over he saw Lucy crouched down on the ground holding her arm. He raced over to his newest friend who had fallen to the floor to put out the flames with grass and dirt. He saw the tears that stained the edge of her eyes and he reached out toward her in concern._

" _I didn't see you there, I didn't know-are you…?" He fell silent seeing the burn on her shoulder and across her back where the flames ate away the clothes. He felt a deep pit of regret settle in his stomach; this was only the third mission going out together on their own. How had he completely missed detecting her? Did he not smell her or see her? What happened?_

" _Lucy I'm….sorr-"_

" _It's fine...I'm ok, I should have known better," Lucy muttered, interrupting the fire wizard and stood up._

" _I think my back is worse than anything...I hope I don't get a scar…."_

 _He stared at the deep burn across her back, knowing that she'll bare that the rest of her life._

 _His first and only mistake. Lucy...That won't happen again, I promise._

The blonde had her back turned to him, he couldn't recognize a single scent in the air, nor could he hear a distinctive voice. But seeing the blonde twist, as if in pain, brought the painful memory to surface. She seemed too similar to Lucy...but that can't be Lucy...he can't smell her or hear her.

 _But I couldn't smell her when I burned her years ago either…._

Panic rose in his chest realizing no one was racing to her aid. Springing forward, while hearing Happy question him from behind, he sprinted through the crowd and swiftly tackled the blonde, eating away the flames that crowded on her cloak.

"Lucy?"

He held down the girl who's hood slipped off to reveal a furious looking female that born green eyes and a frown to match. A bucket of water suddenly soaked the two of them and he immediately felt himself moving as the girl screamed, "What the hell are you doing?!"

Natsu hesitated and stood up with a shake of his head from the water and offered a hand toward the strange girl who huffed and stood up on her own, hands on her hips. He smirked, she reminded him of Lucy.

"Sorry, I thought you were someone I knew…" He paused, "But hey I saved you, so you could thank me you know."

The girl folded her arms in agitation, "thank you?" she spread out her arms and looked around the crowd who stared at the two of them, "I was in the middle of a show and you completely ruined it!"

"You could have seriously hurt her." A large man continued and Natsu looked over to see him holding a bucket where the water came from.

"Sorry for not letting you burn to death." Natsu muttered with a frown, "sheesh, entertainment these days." There was a bountiful of booing as Natsu exited the crowd and made his way back to the tent where Happy sat confused with a tilted head, a single noodle draping over his right ear.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing...it was nothing."

Happy looked back over toward the crowd not convinced, the blonde was picking up her stuff, the spectators shuffling away from the scene.

"Boy that sure looks like Lucy, doesn't it Natsu?"

The cat looked over toward the fire wizard who sighed and shook his head, water droplets spraying the cat, he smiled, "yeah it does."

The little cat let off a quiet giggle and tapped him playfully on the shoulder.

"You miss her." Happy teased and Natsu shrugged quietly, not in the mood to debate with the little cat. It wasn't as if he was incorrect anyway.

"See, we should have never left her behind, she missed out on all this yummy food and a wonderful festival." Happy continued, putting his paws on the table in excitement. Natsu took in a breath and watched a young couple walk by who bore face paint on their faces. One had half of a dragon's face, while the other had the other half. When they were close while holding hands- it resembled a whole dragon with two different eyes.

Natsu watched them then turned toward Happy, "it's just weird to me."

"What is?" The noodle on his ear flopped as he turned toward his friend.

"I don't know…" He muttered and leaned back into the bar table, "...I thought this was going to be dangerous just like the notice said….but-" He paused watching a kid scream with joy as an adult blew bubbles out in the walkway. "-this is nothing like it mentioned."

Happy nodded, licking the sauce off his paw, "well like what I always say, when you're given lemons-make lemonade!" Happy smiled and raced over toward the bubbles, popping them alongside the little boy. Natsu smiled watching the little blue cat enjoy himself.

A shadow caught his eye; glancing over he watched a large man take a seat next to him, ordering a loaf of bread for himself. Glancing over at Natsu, he was greeted with a wide smile, "the Mrs. has been demanding this homemade bread for days, I can't disappoint." He handed the baker the jewel and turned back toward Natsu, " I can't wait to see her reaction, she loves surprises- and I love seeing her smile."

"Surprises?" Natsu repeated and leaned his head into his hand in thought. Perhaps he should surprise Lucy with something in apology for leaving her behind without much of a notice. He felt a twinge of guilt leaving her a note and dashing out in a hurry before she woke up. But he was sure if he told her in person, she would have convinced him to bring her along. Or she would have just followed him. _Maybe._ But maybe that's just what he would do in her shoes.

The man beside him received his loaf of bread and stood up with a huff. He glanced over toward Natsu and held out his hand, "My name is Toni, you are Natsu Dragneel I presume?"

Natsu blinked and looked up at the man, curiously.

"You made quite the commotion out there." He noted and Natsu glanced away, feeling his face heat up with embarrassment. Shaking it off the dragon slayer took his hand and nodded, "yes I am...how do you-"

Toni waved his hand in front of him and smiled, "I was the one who issued the letter to the guilds. Your fire abilities are well known here, as well as your other dragon counterparts."

"You mean the other dragon slayers?"

"Precisely." Toni paused and walked outside the tent, gesturing for Natsu to follow, "You happened to come at a perfect time, our dragon festival is the largest in the nearby lands. People come here from far away to enjoy it."

Natsu stepped outside the Raman tent and looked around, "I've never heard of it before."

"Oh ho, it's still very new. Only been around for a couple of years but it has grown considerably since then."

Toni continued, "well, do you mind coming along with me? I have to make a couple stops and then we can chat in private."

Natsu nodded and looked over toward Happy who was playing with the other kids and shouted, "come on Happy we're leaving!" The kids all moaned as Happy flew up and quickly joined his friend, the noodle still suck on his head. Natsu picked it off and hung it in front of the cat who pawed at it. They laughed as they began following Toni down the center of the shops.

As they passed rows of food carts and various shops, a single facility caught his eye. Pausing he stared at the rows of bracelets, a single gold one catching his eyes. Looking up he shouted, "hold up one moment." Both the older gentleman and Happy paused up ahead to watch Natsu exchange jewel for a small bracelet that had tiny keys dangling from them. He quickly pocketed the item and ran to catch up with them. Happy glanced at him with a tilted head, "I didn't think you liked things like that." Natsu laughed, "I guess you have a lot to learn then."

Happy huffed and Toni smiled, "alright, not too far from here."

Natsu looked up and saw a large building, so large it reminded him of almost a castle and he stared in awe. No matter how far he traveled there was still so much to see in the world.

"No problem!" He shouted.

"Aye" Happy cried out then paused, Natsu looked up at the hesitant cat, "what's wrong buddy?"

"I don't know...I can't shake this feeling that I forgot something…"

"Well, I guess if you can't remember, then it wasn't very important huh?" Natsu supplied and Happy nodded slowly, "yeah I guess so…"

* * *

Or was it important? _What did Happy forget to tell Natsu?_

Everything always happens for a reason in my stories or _most of the time_. So while things may seem random, they'll be explained. The dream was based on the future lucy from the series and my take on what happened before she made her way to the present earthland.

If you enjoyed this, leave a review and hit the favorite button ^^ I'll see you guys for the next chapter in the next few weeks _or sooner!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for everyone who is following my story. As a recap, the story is a Nalu fiction that shows the two wizards apart on separate missions. This story will start with Lucy POV then end with Natsu POV.**

 **This is one of my shorter chapters because I felt if I waited longer I wouldn't have put out the next chapter for another week.**

* * *

 **Lucy POV**

* * *

"Ten O'clock! Crap, I slept in way too late!"

As Lucy threw her clothes in the bag and hurried out the door, she threw down the key in check out and raced toward the nearest magic vehicle facility nearby.

"Aw man…"

Lucy stopped in front of her location, gathering up the remainder of her breath. She looked around, her spirits dampening when she saw no vehicles waiting outside. Stepping inside the building she met a young man who greeted her at the door.

Lucy smiled, "do you by chance have any rides available for today..?"

The man pushed up his glasses and then shook his, "Sorry Miss, but I'm afraid that all of our magic vehicles are no longer available due to the _Dragon Festival_ just a few hours west from here... and the _tournament_ a few hours north. A lot of folks needed the magic rides for the long trips, so I won't expect anyone returning them for the next couple of days at the soonest!"

He smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "You're just a bit too late sweetheart like they always say, the early bird gets the worm. Or in this case, a ride."

Lucy frowned with a moan, "Ahww..."

 _If I had come here last night I bet I would have snagged a ride, thanks for nothing Loke!_

Stepping aside she crossed her arms, "The next time I see that scruffy lion of a spirit, I'm going to-"

The man gave her a strange look before suddenly falling over to his side from an intense rumbling that was shaking the building so strong- that Lucy could see cracks form across the sides.

"Not again!" the man cried out, stumbling over toward the wall and catching a variety of trophies before collapsing under them. Lucy grabbed the edge of the doorframe and waited until the shaking slowed down to a mild rumble. Shaking her head she poked her head outside, hearing the chaos unfold in the streets.

"Wow, that was the second earthquake today," Lucy noted. She looked up to see dust filtering through the air and she waved a hand across her face.

That's when the screaming reached her ears. Lucy paused, her dream from last night flooding her mind. Those weren't screams of excitement, that was true terror. Stepping outside completely she found the ground stable but there was still a distant sound of a rumble. _Why?_

A series of booms chorused from the north side of the town and she watched as people raced toward her, away from the sound.

"What's going on?" She asked, glancing on ahead, the dust thick. But then she saw it. The small mountain that resided up ahead, the one she needed to cross to get to where she was heading, it was sliding down...down into the town below.

"Land slide!" She heard people scream as they panicked and raced away. Lucy felt herself get shoved to the side as people desperately tried to get away.

She watched the land slow as she got to her feet, but even as the rumbling of the landslide grew faint, the screams grew louder.

"Dang, I can't just catch a break today, can I...?" She felt the edge of her keys and the whip at her side.

Racing against the crowd she headed toward her destination, "I can't just ignore this."

As she drew closer she saw the damage of cracked buildings and sidewalks, but as she neared the end of the north side of town- she began to see the buildup of rock and dirt, and it only grew more as she traveled further north.

Soon she was in the midst of the disaster and the landslide had slowed down to the occasional drop of rocks. She saw people screaming, crying and yelling out for loved ones who were trapped under the rubble. A little boy nearby dug into the dirt, his hand grabbing onto something soft and plush that was stuck under a large rock. Lucy bent down and with a little effort lifted the rock and pulled out a stuffed animal of a dog and handed it to the little boy who seemed to be all alone. Picking him up she held the toddler and asked for his name.

"Sam." He mumbled and she eventually found his parents who were desperately looking for him.

Tears stained their eyes as they grabbed their son, their clothes torn and dirty from the slide.

"What happened?" Lucy asked, looking up toward the mountain. The mother wiped her eyes, "it just came out of nowhere...the land moved on its own. It was as if there was a large hole and it was filling it out."

The husband nodded, "It's all those damn earthquakes!"

Lucy gazed over toward the mountain, realization dawning on her that it was her path toward her destination.

"Dang," Lucy muttered with a sigh and reached for her key, Virgo with a somber expression.

"Sorry, this may be a long day for us, Virgo."

Looking around she continued to hear the cries for help and began to work alongside the locals to dig out individuals. Some were injured, others were mildly scratched. She was lucky that everyone she has found had been alive-other rescuers nearby weren't as lucky. But the injured were far from few in between.

Stretching her back from using virgo and her own abilities to help in the digging effort, there was a lot of land to continue forward with. There was a rush of wind as the ground lifted underneath her, the maiden spirit suddenly forming in front of her.

"Princess, I believe that I have rescued the last of the people." She bowed and gave Lucy a somber expression.

"There were 80 injured, 15 severely wounded…" She paused and Lucy watched as the spirit took a breath, "and 5 killed found by my excavation. That is all."

Lucy nodded, as they avoided each other's gaze, "thank you, Virgo, you helped out a lot." The spirit bowed again, "It's no problem. Though...I may need extra punishment the next time you see me."

Lucy smirked and shook her head, "whatever makes you happy…" She watched the spirit cast away in golden sparks and Lucy stood there, looking around at all the combined efforts. Many were being transported to nearby hospitals, though there were so many that it was difficult to get everyone there immediately. She saw a young teenage girl sitting by herself with a blanket wrapped around her, blood scarred across her face and feet. From what she had gathered from the other rescue groups, there were over 300 casualties, and presently around 20 deaths.

"What a mess…" She mumbled with a sigh then looked up at the mountain and where the entrance used to be. It was going to take a lot of effort to clear the pathway back up for travelers.

"What I wouldn't give to have someone else with me right now…" She gazed over toward the wounded, "Wendy would have been great to heal all these people without trying to get everyone to the hospital in one go." She glanced back toward the large collapsed entrance between the mountains.

"Erza or Natsu's power would be great to get all these rocks out of the way...Even Gray would help cool us all down here…"

"Well, that's what you get for trekking it all on your own."

Lucy screamed and turned around, swiping her hand over her keys from the instinct to defend herself. Straightening herself out she bawled her fists in annoyance, "Can it, Loke!"

The lion spirit laughed and shrugged, "What, it's true." He poked her in the chest, which caused her to stumble back before catching herself.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were just going to annoy me for one day. You trying to set a new record?"  
Loke smirked, "Nah, I've been here, just been a bit busy like you." He gestured to a group of young ones who stood behind him, scratched and bruised.

"I found a few kids trapped around here, been trying to find the families."

She looked at the kids who stared wide eyed at her, "Oh."

Loke nodded and turned toward them, "Now, what was your mom and dads names again?" He asked a little girl who held hands with an older boy. She watched as the kids said the names quietly. She watched him pick up a little boy and ask the same question, and without hesitation turned toward Lucy and proceed to push him into her arms.

"Here, have a kid," Loke replied then gently pushed a little girl her way. She looked up at Lucy with big blue eyes, the little boy stared at her with the same blue color in her arms.

"Hey!" She cried out, shifting the little boy's weight in her arms to instinctively grab hold of the little hand of the girl reaching out for her.

"I'm too young for this kind of stuff, Loke, hey are you listening to me?"

Lucy sighed heavily, watching him trek away with a few other kids in tow. Lucy frowned and looked at the two kids.

"What did I get myself into?" she mumbled and began heading toward a group of adults a few meters away.

"So you guys live here then, huh, and your dad's name is Jeff and your mom's name is Lilly huh?" The little girl who looked to be only about 6 or 7 years old. She was dirty and her skirt was torn.

She nodded

"We...we were going to go to dragons festival but, but we were running late and then the mountain...it just fell on us…"

 _Thats right… I remember the shop keeper saying something about that. Kind of odd I've never heard of it before. I wonder if Natsu knows much about it?_

She walked up to a station that was handing out free water and grabbed a cup for them both.

She smiled. _This wasn't really the time or place to ask such things about a festival though...I'll just have to ask some other time. Natsu would probably love it._

The little girl rubbed her eyes, dirt smeared across her face before taking a large drink of water. An hour passed by and Lucy found herself at the station of Lost and found, still holding hands with the little girl. She had learned that they were a traveling family and that her, her 3-year-old little brother, and their two parents were heading back south then westbound to the festival. They lived in a small village just outside of here.

Lucy sat down with the little boy on her lap, the little girl sat next to her playing with her hair, tears staining her face.

Every few minutes the little girl would start crying and Lucy would embrace her in a half hug and explain that she wasn't going anywhere until they found her parents or someone to help them.

Suddenly the little girl's eyes lit up as she jumped to her feet, Lucy looked up to see her fighting spirit head her way.

"Loke!" She cried out she turned to Lucy, "he saved us!"

She felt weight hit her shoulder as Loke swung an arm across her while holding the two kids.

"Aw, it's like we're a big family." Loke teased and Lucy frowned, desperately trying to hold back a punch to his face in front of the two young kids.

"I swear you have the biggest death wish."

Opening up he pointed toward a man who was making his way toward them, the kid's eyes widened and the little girl rushed forward with a loud, "papa!"

Lucy felt the little boy squirm and a smile touch her lips watching the little girl leap into her father's arms. He looked exhausted and worn. Loke started forward and Lucy followed suite, lowering the little boy to the ground so he could hug his father.

"My children, thank you!" The two of them exchanged glances watching the family hold one another, crying.

"You have done me such a favor young man and woman. I have nothing to give you for I have lost everything...only my thanks."  
"And that is all we will need," Loke replied the man nodded and held them.

The two of them turned away and Loke glanced at her, "I haven't seen earthquakes this tremendous in about 200 years or more."

"Yeah?"

Loke nodded and the watched as various crew passed them by.

"We still need to get through that path though." Loke pointed out where emergency responders were digging and putting rocks aside for travelers.

Lucy nodded and looked at her keys, "Yes, you're right." She sighed and glanced at her keys, Loke looked at her, "are you planning on using someone to help relieve the rubble"

She nodded and Loke frowned, "using your energy up in one go may not be wise, you want to find a different path instead?"

Lucy crossed her arms, "it's already close to evening again, I don't want to waste any more time. If I'm not there her key might be..."

 _What if someone already called on her? What if she's contracted already? Or what if it was stolen and its all for naught?_

"Nevermind, we only have two choices anyway, don't we? Clear the path ahead or find another route."

Lucy frowned debating her options.

* * *

 **Natsu POV**

* * *

"Natsu, Natsu look at me!" The fire slayer turned toward the little blue cat who was desperately trying to get his attention.

"Rawr!" he shouted and Natsu pulled back, a large dragon mask across his face.

Natsu laughed, "Where did you get that, where's mine?"

The little cat flew up and shook his head, pulling the mask off, "that lady at the shop just gave it to me!" Natsu looked over to see an older lady with a mask wave, Happy waved back.

"It must have been a long way from, what was it again, Fairy Tail?"

Natsu looked back toward the man in front of him, and nodded, "Yup that's the one and only."

The man matched Natsu's smile, "Great, great. Good to hear a well reputable guild willing to help out a town so far as this one!"

The man continued as they followed him, "Our town seemed to just recently get its mark on the map for our wonderful festivals."

"How come you guys have a festival full of dragons?" Happy asked, landing on Natsu's shoulder and the man smiled, "Oh that is a long story indeed. I'll be happy to share with you perhaps later today."

"Oh." Happy replied and Natsu glanced at him then back at the man, "Yeah I've never seen anything like this, it's awesome, usually people are afraid of dragons you know?"

The man nodded, "yes, but most have nothing to fear because presently dragons have never done them any harm."

"Exactly!" Natsu agreed and turned to Happy, "I like this guy already."

The man laughed. There was a large bang as a firework shot from the sky and the man clapped his hands, "oh right, the time, what is the time?"

Natsu and Happy exchanged glances as he turned a corner into a crowded area where many people were rushing past one another.

"Come, come, you must come see-it completely slipped my mind until just now."

Natsu and Happy glanced at one another then raced forward in the effort to keep up with him and the crowd.

"Oh wow, Natsu it's so pretty!" The three of them came upon a large outdoor auditorium where tall wooden polls were placed all around the area- holding up a large fabric, casting shadows onto the crowd who sat waiting. The stage was huge and the area seemed it could hold up to 200 or maybe 300 people at a time.

"Come, come! We can talk afterward, you must see this, it is most beautiful!" Natsu followed him, Happy on his shoulders as they found their way to the front and sat down. Natsu looked around in confusion.

"I don't get it." He mumbled and Happy slid down into the seat next to him, throwing the mask on top of his head.

"What's not to get Natsu? It looks like there's going to be a show!" Happy cried out and Natsu looked down at his little buddy and crossed his arms, leaning back.

"Yeah...I guess so."

The man who took a seat next to him nodded, "you came in great timing, this is our pride and joy...the Dragons Dance."

"The dragons…what?" Natsu asked, but just as his words fell from his mouth, the fabric above shifted and the shadows greeted them heavily as a drum and other instruments started across the auditorium.

"It's starting, it's starting!" Happy whispered excitedly.

Natsu looked up and was greeted with many vibrant colors on the stage. He watched as dancers filtered in and out. All were women except for a single man. He watched them move fluidly as if they danced on water.

Natsu leaned back and frowned, this wasn't exactly what he had in mind. He looked over toward the edges of the stage seeing shadows flicker from the candles.

Why did he bother coming by himself if there really wasn't a crisis? Why did they need a dragon slayer? Was this a trick to show off their new festival for advertisement? He watched as three other men joined onstage, flashes of what seemed to represent lightning in a storm aligned with their dancing.

It was very beautiful and the music was enchanting, he couldn't say he was bored, but he wished some of his friends were nearby to see it as well. Looked down at Happy he was glad the little cat was enjoying himself. Looking back toward the stage, it reminded him of something he would see from a festival in Fairy Tail. Lucy always loved plays-it was too bad she didn't come along. Natsu sighed, perhaps this mission wasn't as dangerous as he presumed. Maybe he did make a mistake. Gods, he's not going to hear the end of it when he gets back, Happy will tell her everything. Natsu frowned _,_ _Man, this sucks._

There were large cutouts that entered the stage that seemed to represent buildings and it filtered in and out with the scenes.

Then the music changed pace and the lights filtered down red and black as a large head of a dragon appeared. The main male dancer stopped and began to speak in the pause of the music, stating that the dragon was not welcome to the village.

A few others who were dressed as dragons entered and surrounded the man as the dancing turned into fighting and the vibrant colors turned to dark shades across the stage. Natsu found himself enchanted with the scenes.

"I will not let you harm anyone dragon." the man cried out and the dragons around him fell as he touched them all in turn. "I will kill all of you if I must, I will do it even if it costs others their lives, the city must not fall!"

There was a bright orange light and smoke crowded the stage as the large dragon appeared to tower above him.

 **"But human, you have already destroyed the city and killed hundreds of your humankind just to kill the few of us."**

The fabric lifted and the buildings were toppled over, many people laid on the ground surrounding the man.

 **"Now, who really is the monster, me...or you?"**

Natsu felt himself lurch in his stomach as the dragon leaped on top of the actor who fell to the floor. There was a loud crash as the fabric was ripped away from overhead and a dark shadow fell onto Natsu, knocking the breath out of him as he heard Happy cry out in surprise, knocking him away nearby.

Natsu coughed, feeling his chest getting pressed heavily into the ground as dust filtered across his eyes. He squinted feeling metal course across his body and looked up to see a large metal framed dragon staring down at him with fire red eyes. He saw parts of the beast that bore cream color as if skin dared to try to escape from the metal that held him.

"Augh!" Natsu tried to pry the large claw away from him.

He was so into the play he had not realized that everyone had left the front area.

He was alone. This was a trap.

* * *

Thanks for sticking this far with me! The story is going to be picking up fairly quickly from here on out as the plot is concerned. Natsu has found himself in a trap and Lucy is trying to make her way to the next town to find Aquarius once again.

Stick around, the next chapter will most likely consist of Natsu POV!


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, thanks for sticking this far with the story. This story has a lot of plot build up but I hope it is all worth it in the next coming chapters.

This chapter was becoming very large so I split it up into two chapters, you will see the next one very soon, hopefully in the next couple of days or sooner because it is almost done, it just needs to be edited. But I figured since the first half was finished I would put it out there.

This Chapter is solely Natsu POV.

* * *

 **Natsu POV**

* * *

Natsu struggled to breathe underneath the talons of the beast that held him captive. Narrowing his eyes he looked up, trying to understand the situation in a proper amount of time.

"Slayer! It is true that they do not know how to think, only to act!"

Natsu set his eyes to the side where the man he was following just moments before stood far off, arms crossed on the side of the auditorium. The torn fabric from above waved in the wind, hiding him from sight every few seconds.

"What, what is this thing?" Natsu moaned, feeling the pressure of the beast press into his chest and he coughed out of reflex.

"You don't like it? But it is a dragon, you like dragons don't you, slayer?" He held his stomach as he began to laugh, "Isn't that a bit of hypocrisy? A dragon slayer who loves dragons." He spat on the side with a sneer.

"This thing…" Natsu looked up at the metal beast with red eyes. While it resembled a bit of a dragons structure, it was clear it was not a natural born dragon. It had bright silver scales with flesh that oozed out from between the metal. It smelled sickly of metal and rotten flesh.

 _What the hell is this thing? This is nothing like any of the dragons that I've met and it's nothing like..._ A picture of Igneel passed through his mind and he swallowed. _No this isn't a dragon._

"This is no dragon, this is some dark magic..?" Natsu asked then looked up at the chuckling man with a frown, "Tell me!"

The man laughed, "I don't think you're in the position to ask any questions."

The man snapped his fingers and Natsu felt the pressure exceed his limit as his body was smashed against the ground, breaking the wooden bench under him and pushing into the dirt.

"Gahh!"

The squeal of metal screamed in his ears as he grabbed the beasts foot and felt the heat pour from his fingers in an attempt to free his hold.

There was a loud moan as he watched the beast draw the talons in, then back away as the metal melted down into the pale mush underneath.

Natsu scrambled to his feet, gathering his bearings as he watched the monster rear back.

"Natsu!"

The fire slayer looked over his shoulder and suddenly he found himself in midair. The monster missed its next swipe, hitting just where he was standing a second before.

Natsu smiled at the blue cat who had grabbed his shoulders from behind.

"Thanks, buddy."

Happy nodded, a cut across his ear.

"I don't know what this thing is, but if this is your dragon problem, then I will take care of it," Natsu replied, crossing his arms, looking down toward the beast whose tail lashed to the side in agitation.

The man had climbed to the top of the auditorium, "Are all you slayers this stupid, or is it just you fire slayer?"

Natsu glanced his way but felt himself jerk as Happy flew away from another swat from the monster below. Natsu parried an attack with his fist and felt Happy sweep to the side as they glided above the beast.

"What do you mean?" Natsu replied.

"Natsu!"

Natsu looked over as Happy exclaimed, blue filling his vision as the duo was slammed with a wave of water.

He felt them losing control as they crashed back to the ground, hot steam poured from the two as he dodged an incoming attack and rolled to the side- away from the beast.

"You're relentless!" Natsu noted, sidestepping another swipe of its right claw then letting off a fire dragon roar, coating the dragon in his fire. The beast howled and he watched as the auditorium filled with fog as the water hit fire.

Natsu tensed, unable to see the beast, barely able to see his own hands in front of him.

He looked to the side-something grabbed his arm.

Natsu jumped, but Happy's face appeared again, "Natsu, it's just me!" Happy exclaimed and Natsu sighed with a smile, "I almost fried you there buddy."

Happy frowned, "Come on, you should know me by now. We're a team, and...and I don't know why this guy is so mad at you and why they are impersonating a dragon...but we can do this!"

Natsu smiled and nodded, "you're right, but first thing is first." He grabbed his fist and stretched, "we need to take care of problem one- then we'll worry about problem two."

The two clapped hands. "Let's do it!"

Happy began to quickly spin around Natsu and picked up enough speed to dispel the fog. Natsu caught sight of the monster to his left and he dodged just in time. Grabbing Happy he threw him on his shoulder and leaped on top of the dragon who cried out, lifting on its back feet to knock Natsu away.

"Fire dragon iron fist!" He felt his hand collide with the beast's back and it howled in agony.

There was a loud grumble and he saw the reflection of his fire; looking up the spine of the dragon had silver spikes appear. He watched them raise with fatal speed toward him and Natsu leaped off, seconds away from being stabbed. Happy caught him and his scarf whipped around his face.

"Water and steel? What is this thing?" Natsu growled. The monster turned toward the duo and whipped his tail around, catching them by surprise. Natsu felt the steel wrap against his stomach as he flew back, slamming into the auditorium. He cringed, watching wooden panels crash around him, pulling his leg back to avoid being crushed alive. Natsu ducked as shards of steel flashed by him, digging into the wooden panel surrounding him.

His eyes grew large, a flying scale inches from missing his face.

"You cannot defeat us dragon slayer, we have something you don't have!"

Natsu wiped the blood that dripped from his brow and squinted- trying to find the voice where the man was located. But his figure was hidden.

"You don't have the same drive, and you never will," he continued.

Natsu scrambled to his feet and took in a few breaths, staring down the monster, "that's where you're wrong. As long as I'm in fairy tail, I'll always have fight left in me."

"Fairy Tail? Oh, that guild you play with between your missions? You fight for your morals, for their approval? No, don't tell me, _ **for friendship**_!?"

The man howled in laughter and Natsu was unsure where his voice was coming from.

"Tell me, if friendship is what you are after, why do you choose only those who share your special gifts?"

"What are you talking about?" Natsu growled, shifting his gaze around the broken theatre.

"Where was your friendship when the poor people needed help? Where was your friendship when poor innocent people were running away, afraid for their lives?"

"Where was it!?" He screamed and Natsu felt himself tense as the monster leaped at him again, he dodged and parried. The talon ripped at his scarf and Natsu's eyes widened, releasing his counter-attack and allowed himself to lax to avoid tearing the material. The force of the counter strike hit him head on and his scarf pulled away, falling to the ground near the monster.

Natsu smacked his head against the wall and leaned forward, spitting up blood in the process.

"What was that? The famous dragon slayer is so easily hit!" Natsu narrowed his eyes.

He clenched his fist and replied hoarsely, "...I don't understand." _I don't understand your motive._

The monster stared at him with cool eyes and the voice came again, "you think you're a hero."

Natsu crouched with a hesitant breath, listening.

"You're no hero."

The dragon slid an arm forward, smashing the scarf into the dirt. Natsu tensed.

"You're a killer, masked with a friendly smile," The man continued.

Natsu clenched his fist.

 _What was he going on about? A killer... Him? He's rarely killed a thing his life, hell, he can't even remember the last time he even took a life. Has he ever taken a life..? Are they confusing him with someone else?_ Natsu looked up at the man, shirt torn and dark hair tossed around as if he hasn't slept in days. _There was no way they were meaning him…._

"Look, I don't know who did you guys wrong, but I don't think you have the right guy." Natsu started, spitting blood off to the side and putting his hands up in defense in an attempt to talk his way through the escalating conversation.

The dragon continued to stare him down as Natsu continued, "I haven't killed anyone."

"Natsu Dragneel, the fire dragon Slayer. A resident of Fiore; raised by a dragon, grew up in a guild. A powerful fire mage and even more powerful dragon slayer..."

"And your point?" Natsu raised his hand in confusion.

Natsu parried the beasts stare with his own when a small voice called out.

"Natsu.."

He looked over to see Happy crouched to the side a few feet away, the cat cringed as he held himself with a single paw. A piece of metal carved deep into his shoulder.

"Happy! Your shoulder!"

The cat had tears staining his eyes. "I'm fine but...I can't fly I'm sorry..."

"Don't be sorry, you-" Natsu began as a shadow passed over, taking his eyes off the dragon he saw the beast leap, but this time...it wasn't to him.

Natsu's heart stopped as a hundred scenarios played out and before he had time to register any thoughts he found himself moving on his own accord- seeing the eyes of the dragon sweep over to the little blue cat. The eyes of a predator would to prey.

"Why don't we see what it's really like for the great and powerful wizard to truly lose something precious."

Seconds felt like minutes as he fired off his power to protect his friend. Reaching out he felt the wind whip at his back as he closed the distance and curled over the little blue cat, protecting him. Pain split across his body as he took the hit and his clothes ripped from the back. There was a loud bang and his ears rang as he curled up in the dirt holding the cat with heavy breaths. He heard a voice from above.

"You protected him instead of yourself, how noble of you." There was a chorus of giggling, "so it seems you have a heart after all for the weak."

Natsu barely had time to recover before the beast slammed into him again and he cried out in response.

"But you have no idea what it means to **truly** protect those around you! Why save him?"

Natsu tensed feeling the talon lift only to slam into him again with no break, his face planted into the dirt. He curled his body tightly around the cat; Happy's limp form told him that he was alive but unconscious.

The talon lifted and Natsu tensed, ready for another attack to protect his weakened friend.

"He's my friend."

He lifted to his knees, blood across his arms as he held the little cat.

"What" The man responded.

Natsu frowned and repeated, "...because he's my friend!"

"When was the last time you did something that had nothing to do with your precious friends?"

Natsu looked up and saw a figure in the fog standing beside the older gentleman. He felt the shadow of the dragon's talons as it held above his head. He knew he should have run, he should have got up and fought. _Something._ But the man's words held him, like a rope. They twisted as shadows began to appear around the broken and torn auditorium.

"When was the last time you cared for a complete stranger!"

"When was the last time you thought about someone other than your friend's wellbeing dragon slayer!"

"I-I do care, I fight for everyone, for the better of the world!" Natsu stammered in response, holding Happy tightly and the figure crossed his arms.

"You have no idea what you have done, do you?" The man asked and Natsu felt his eyes dig into him, a shudder raced across his spine. The dragon slayer didn't respond, but the man answered anyway.

"You have killed hundreds of innocent people dragon slayer."

"That's not true!" Natsu cried out, shaking.

He felt a shadow go over him and he dodged, holding the cat, feeling weak from the battle, what was going on? Why was he feeling so drained? He looked ahead the ground spinning.

 _You have killed hundreds of innocent people._

 _Me? I killed…_ He felt his footing slide and he grabbed onto a wall, hearing his voice reach his ears. _This had to be a misunderstanding. But why..._ Natsu looked up at the man's eyes. _Why do his eyes speak the truth? Why do they look so painful, so sad...so angry….What...what did I do?_

"You slayers are all the same. Destructive, conceited, and care only for the safety of those closest to you. You spit on the people under and around you."

Natsu stumbled forward, avoiding another hit from the beast.

"We didn't bring you here to slay a dragon. We brought you here to slay you, slayer. To get our revenge."

 _Our revenge…?_ He saw more shadows appear around the auditorium, many shapes and sizes as they watched Natsu leaped out of the way from another attack.

"We don't want to cower in fear anymore from your destruction!" The man looked up toward the beast that swatted at Natsu again, "our own design, we created him in just under two years." He laughed, "dragons have always been feared in many villages, but people are blind to the destruction and ruin the slayer's cause." He opened his arms, "So we spread rumors of a false dragon and began building our design in the mountains east of here." He cackled holding up a finger, "unfortunately we had to write off a few nightly test drives as earthquakes, but no one suspected a thing."

Natsu narrowed his eyes feeling, "fire dragon roar!" But he was met with an equal blast of water, turning the place into steam once again.

Natsu frowned; suddenly he was snatched and thrown to the ground, trapped under the talons that held him like a cage.

The man stood a few feet away with folded arms.

Natsu shook, feeling his power draining as he continued to stare at the man with those same damned eyes. _When I look in your eyes...I see...I see me when I lost igneel...when I lost fairy tail..when I was all alone. But there's no way...I can't accept that I killed…._

"You're lying, you're wrong about me, about all dragon slayers." Natsu shouted, struggling between the talons of the beast while keeping an eye on the man nearby.

"You don't know how badly I wish this was all a lie."

Natu's eyes widened seeing the man's eyes flicker to the dirt, were those tears?

"You're the reason why I will never see my family again."

Natsu's chest twisted in pain...there was no way...

"No...that's not true...I don't remember ever...how?" His words came out scattered as his mind raced, trying to remember something, anything that this man was referring to. But not once did he ever remember lashing out on civilians.

The man sighed quietly, "It was three years ago. I was a local merchant, I remember that day because I sold my first silver necklace to a beautiful young couple." He smiled touching a necklace against his neck, "Not soon after a fight had broken out between a few guild wizards."

He folded his arms, "A fight between a fire wizard and an iron wizard. Naturally, fights took place away from the town. But this one seemed different." He twiddled his thumbs.

"We didn't leave, we had no foresight of the devastation."

"Of The flames that ate away the town and the steel that left it in ruins."

He grasped at his hand, holding a necklace that bore a silver dragon, "I watched the young couple die as the sky rained steel and fire." Natsu felt his body grow heavy as he listened to the tale.

"And my family...?" He continued, fists tight and brows lowered.

"My family was trapped." The man grasped the necklace.

"How was I supposed to know that I was supposed to be there! How I was I supposed to know that they screamed for my name as they were trapped inside my home!"

"People screamed, oh how people screamed- and when I saw my home and heard the stories of how my children howled as they died in the fire ** _calling out for me_**. I knew I failed as a father."

Natsu's breaths shortened as he stared at the man who entrusted this story to him. This story that he never knew, never heard. A flash of a memory returned, remembering how Gajeel and he clashed...the city had gone up in smoke that day. Alarms bleed from his ears...and he was scolded back at fairy tail for being too destructive yet again. But no one told him of the casualties.. _Why...why did no one tell him?_ The man's voice cracked as his eyes met his own, a renewed fire set ablaze in his eyes.

"How were we supposed to know that the people who we trusted the most….the wizards… how they would come to ruin our very lives." Natsu flinched, feeling the pressure of the beast's talons around him and saw a few shadows bare their faces closer, young people, older people, kids-they all stared at him with the same fire in their eyes.

 _What have I done…?_

The man realized he was no longer alone and held out his hand in introductions, "these are the survivors of the various battles. The scars you never knew you had, slayer."

"Tell me, do you still think you're a hero?"

A woman picked up a rock and threw it toward him, her voice cracking, tears staining her eyes, "A building fell on my son that day! I will never see him walk or hear his first words because of you!" The rock bounced off his raised hand, barely scraping him.

A man filtered near her and cried out that his wife had died saving their daughter in a house fire. A little girl screamed that her parents were now dead. Other voices entered and after each one he felt his flames flicker out slowly...every voice stabbed him and he cringed as more rocks found their way toward him. Not because of the backlash of physical pain...but every rock...every voice... was someone that he hurt.

 _I didn't know…_ He clenched jaw and shut his eyes hearing the hostile screams bounce around him.

 _You're not a hero._

"You killed him!"

"I hate wizards because of you!"

"You destroy everything in sight!"

"You should just die like our families did!" A chorus of cries accumulated, deafening the field. His chest felt as though it gained weight, he couldn't move.

Natsu felt himself shake internally, desperately trying to come up with some form of words.

 _You're not a hero._

Some sort of understanding. The people were beginning to look hazy as their figures blurred, the rocks turned into shadows and the people smeared together in various colors.

 _You're not a hero..._

"I-" He saw the shadow tower above him as the monster slammed into him and suddenly, everything turned black.

* * *

Probably not where you think this is going, but don't worry there is a reason for everything I write!

What will happen? You'll find out in the next chapter, which should be out soon.

I haven't concentrated with the large Nalu plot yet, but it's there _. I promise._ I want to say after this next chapter I will see the Nalu rise very suddenly.


	6. Chapter 6

**I know it took a few chapters but it's finally here! I hope to see this story blossom after this, because after the next chapter. This chapter includes the beginning of the climax for Natsu.**

* * *

 **Natsu POV**

* * *

" _Hey, why do you want to be a wizard anyway?"_

 _Natsu crossed his arms, a young 10 year old smiled and replied, "Because I want to be the strongest wizard out there and help people."_

" _That's dumb."_

" _What did you say ice princess…?"_

" _Don't call me that!"_

 _A little 10 year old Gray threw an ice ball and he felt the cold magic slam into him, seeping into his bones._

"Uh-Ah!" Natsu gasped for breath, pulling forward, his eyes gradually coming back into focus. Shaking his head he realized he was shackled and pinned against the wall. Frowning he pulled against them but to no avail.

"Damn.." Clenching his fists he summoned his magic and pulled it forward to melt the bars holding him. But to his surprise- nothing happened. He tried again and again then even tried a fire dragon roar. But no matter how much he yelled or begged, his fire wouldn't return to him. Natsu's heart beat in his chest as he stared at the cuffs that held his wrists together. They flowed a bright orange and he smelled them. They were a magic instrument, but what were they?

 _Is this why I can't use my fire attacks?_

Natsu swallowed and cursed them; glancing around the room his eyes spotted something on the floor and his heart sank.

"Happy!"

The little cat lay curled up, laying against the cold brick floor. Natsu pulled again at his chains, desperately trying to free himself. But it was to no avail.

Happy's shoulder had a massive cut, the blood dried where the metal had pierced his skin. Staring, Natsu saw the ragged breaths the cat took and felt mildly calmed knowing he was still breathing.

 _They didn't chain him, I wonder if it's because they didn't see him as a threat or.._

Clenching his fists he pulled again from the wall, looking out from the metal bars where the entrance of the cell lay.

"Can anyone hear me!?" Natsu screamed and he heard his voice echo back to him in return.

He threw his shoulders forward, hearing the clanging of metal hitting metal, "Someone, anyone, please, my friend is really hurt!" He looked over toward the unconscious cat and growled,

"Please, he needs help!" He threw his arm forward and twisted his wrists, desperately trying to free himself. He felt his skin peel against the metal and he screamed.

 _Dammit I'm going to rip my hands off before I get out of these chains._

The fire wizard felt his chest tighten as he stared at the little blue cat just a few feet away. His fur almost stained purple from the clash of colors. A minute or two passed and no one answered his desperate call.

Natsu took in a few breaths, head lowered.

"Please forgive me Happy… you didn't deserve this."

" _Natsu, Natsu look at me!" Natsu saw the little cat wearing the dragon mask, a smile on his face._

' _I was stupid, I let my emotions get the better of me. Now we're both in trouble, aren't we buddy?'_

Natsu felt a knot form in his stomach, nausea daring to escape.

Shutting his eyes he felt the tears crowding at the edge.

 _Natsu, I'm sorry I can't fly…_

' _No Happy, I'm sorry.'_

"This is my fault."

Opening his eyes his vision blurred out the brick below as the tears fell to his feet. He could see the townspeople, their words ringing in his ears.

 _They're right. I"m not a hero. I couldn't even protect the one I care about._

"My fault…"

"Yeah, it is...you're always getting yourself into trouble when you're all alone, don'tcha?" There was a tsk as he saw a shadow flicker outside the door and heard the release of a latch.

"It's a good thing we're friends."

Natsu looked up, tears staining his face, "Gray."

The two of them stared at one another and the ice wizard frowned, "you really outdone yourself this time…." His voice trailed off when Natsu avoided his gaze. Gray didn't seem to take it personally and instead walked over with a slight frown, casting his ice magic forward.

"Well, in any case, I'm glad I listened to my gut instinct and followed you two."

Natsu watched as he formed ice in the shape of a particular key then proceeded to uncuff him from the wall.

Natsu slid forward onto the brick floor and scrambled clumsily to his feet, his arms still shackled.

Gray snapped his fingers and a second key formed and unlatched the shackles that held his wrists tightly together. The orange glow flickered out like a candle and the metal toppled to the floor with a loud clang.

Natsu wasted no time racing over toward his blue companion, leaning over and scooping up the cat in one sweep.

"He looks rough." Gray noted and Natsu nodded without a response.

Natsu held the little cat who didn't respond to his movements, he was still out cold. _I'm sorry buddy, I'll make things right, we'll get you somewhere to heal soon._

Natsu closed his eyes, _But not here...Maybe the next town or if I can get to the train we can make our way back to Fairy tail and Wendy can heal you up. The dragon...the quest can wait._

Natsu felt himself shake as he kneeled holding the little cat in his arms.

 _Everyone acted as though I was the monster not the beast…But..._

"Gray, do you think I'm a monster?"

The ice wizard glanced at him, "well, yeah, have you seen what you can eat?"

Natsu frowned and Gray's smirk faded, "wait, was that a serious question?"

When Natsu didn't respond, Gray folded his arms over his chest, "Natsu, what exactly happened? By the time I got here- there was massive chaos and a beast as big as a dragon flying away-."

"-I saw guards dragging you away. I figured it was easier to sneak you away then cause a big scene." Gray threw up his arms in exaggeration. "I figured you just up and got yourself into some major trouble. People were shouting for your head. It wasn't pretty."

Natsu cringed then shook off the pained memory, "So the dragon, it's gone?" Natsu asked.

Gray nodded, "I asked around about the dragon, but no one really knew much about it, and where it was headed. I figured you had ties with it, and the reason you were here."

Natsu nodded and Gray realized he wasn't going to talk openly about the topic and took a couple steps forward.

"Come on, we need to get out of here," Gray stuck out a hand and Natsu took it, pulling himself off the floor, "I'm guessing we need to get to the next town since you're pretty much a wanted criminal around here from the looks of it."

Natsu was quiet after the assumption; Gray gave him a quizzical look before turning toward the wall behind them, icing it and crossing his arms.

"Ok, I made the wall unstable, you think you can break it with your fire fist magic or whatever you call it?"

Natsu glanced up and nodded holding Happy in one arm and pulling back another.

"Fire dragon iron fist….!" Natsu's fist smacked into the wall, eyes wide when the fire magic ceased to appear.

"Ok, that's hilarious Natsu, come on we need to go." Gray chided.

Natsu stared at his hands, eyes wide, "My fire…."

Gray threw out his hands, observing his wrists, "Those shackles are off you Natsu, you should be able to use your magic."

Natsu narrowed his eyes and struck the wall again with extra vigor, pulling back a bruised and scratched hand in the process, balling his fist from the pain.

"Shit." Natsu muttered and Gray stared at him, "you have to be joking me, you can't be serious!" Natsu shook his head, "I'm not joking...I can't feel my power at all. I feel drained like it was sucked clean out of me."

Gray frowned, "Damnit, ok plan b, we need to improvise-here."

Natsu looked up, his vision obscured as the brown fabric was tossed over his head. Pulling it down with his right arm he stared at it, and Gray continued, "put on that cloak, I'm glad I brought it, I don't want to stir up any more trouble than we have to; especially if we're on a time limit." He nodded toward Happy. Natsu looked down at the little cat and nodded, "yeah."

Throwing the cloak over his head he went to tie it around his neck and that's when he realized, heart sinking... he felt around his neck then scanned the room in haste, only to realize that his scarf was gone.

"What's the matter?" Gray demanded, seeing him glance around.

Natsu let his hand fall to his side and shook his head, "nothing, let's go."

 _I'll find it eventually, it can't be that far..._ There was a movement and he looked down to see Happy shaking. _But you're more important right now._

Gray nodded, "put up the hood, cover your hair, you'll stand out. Follow me."

Natsu pulled the hood up and follow his friend outside the cell, his hand touching the cool walls, feeling the brick crumble under his fingers.

As they turned the next corner Natsu was startled seeing a guard facing him. But when he took a closer look, he realized he was frozen solid. Gray noticed his bewithered look and he waved his hand in dismissal, "I had to get in and get you out quietly, he'll melt...eventually…"

Natsu felt the man's gaze follow him, sending chills down his spine as they continued down the corridor.

"Come on, just down this hall and up the stairs and we'll be outside."

The two wizards made their way between the cells until they found their way outside, pausing to wait for a guard to pass before stepping out.

"There doesn't seem to be a lot posted here right now. Seems like the festival and whatever was going on stirred up the locals." Gray stated quietly.

Natsu glanced over at him, tentatively holding Happy while pulling his hood down further to shade his face. He looked over down the alley they were trekking, water scattered on the ground and they could hear the splash of their shoes as they made their way forward.

" _How were we supposed to know that the people who we trusted the most….the wizards… how they would come to ruin our very lives."_

 _Natsu_ felt his stomach drop.

 _I didn't join fairy tail to make others hate who we are._

"You ok..?" Natsu jumped at the sound of Gray's voice and glanced over at the ice wizard. "You're being very quiet, it's kind of scaring me." Gray paused and held up a hand, "of course, I'm not complaining, but still."

Natsu blinked then forced a smile toward his way, "of course, just thinking of getting my powers back as soon as possible, and finding a healer for Happy."

Gray nodded, satisfied with the answer.

Of course, it wasn't all a lie. He really was thinking of reasons why his powers didn't answer his call. The cuffs that held him had an unusual magical aurora, if they were meant to cancel out powers, perhaps they just have lasting effects..? He crumpled his hand, shifting Happy's weight to his other arm.

Gray stopped in his tracks and looked back toward the fire wizard before turning another corner down the street.

"Hold up, there's a big group going by." Gray stated, Natsu paused behind him and waited.

As they were about to turn onto the main road Gray looked back, "I'd keep your hood up if I were you, no one knows me, so it doesn't matter. If we want to find help soon as possible it's best if we leave the drama out of it."

Natsu frowned, sneaking around was one of his least favorite things to do as a wizard. Unless of course they were playing ninjas and actually trying to be sneaky. But this was different. Gray was right, they shouldn't waste any time; especially if he was out of fighting commission. Feeling guilt gnaw in his gut he pulled at his hood to make sure his hair was completely covered before stepping out in the light.

As they began to pass around the corner, Gray ahead of him, he felt a sudden weight hit his chest as something small slammed into him. Natsu stumbled back, hood falling off in the shadows of the alleyway, revealing his face.

Natsu squinted his eyes open, black meeting green and saw the familiar dragon outfit from earlier that day. A little blonde girl stared back at him with a dirty green dragon suit to match.

Natsu saw Gray whip his head toward him, lifting his hands, ice forming at the tips of his fingers.

Natsu quickly held up a hand, pushing the girl down, "wait, I know this kid!"

Gray paused and Natsu fully took off his hood and smiled at the little girl who stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're the one with the fire! The dragon!" She stated with a smile.

Natsu nodded and put a single finger to his lips, "you didn't see us ok..?"

The little girl stared as he pulled the hood back over him and patted her head.

She frowned, "But I did see you!" Natsu stood up and the little girl balled her fists, "wait, please don't go, teach us something else! We want to be strong too!" She continued, standing up alongside with him.

Natsu shook his head, "Sorry, I can't right now, can I take a raincheck on that?"

The little girl frowned, her eyes cast down, "I can't actually breath fire...it didn't work. I can't...I can't protect my little brother if I can't breath fire!"

He saw Gray shift uncomfortably on the side and Natsu pulled his hood down farther to shield his face from onlookers who stopped to glance their way in mild interest.

"Don't worry, it takes time, I couldn't breathe fire on the first try either." he patted her on the head again. She bit her lip as if to counter his reason, but Natsu interrupted her, "Do you think you can help us out, dragon between dragon?"

The little girl stared at him, then looked down at the dirt and he saw a tear stain her cheek and whispered, "I'm not really a dragon you know.. I was only pretending."

Natsu frowned and kneeled down to her level with a soft smile, "being a dragon doesn't always mean breathing fire, iron, or lightning. Sometimes it's being that something that protects someone, being free to fly anywhere you want and having the courage to never give up."

She looked up at him, wiping her eyes and he continued, "right now another dragon is needing help, will you help me?"

She stared at him and he continued, holding out Happy for her to see, her eyes grew wide, "kitty…" She reached out with a little hand to touch his ear and looked up at Natsu.

"Is he ok..?" She asked.

"No he isn't." Natsu replied and the little girl's eyes watered, as if she was going to break out in tears.

"Don't cry, it's ok, we can save him, but I need your help, ok?"

The little girl rubbed her eyes with her sleeve and Natsu continued, "remember, dragons are brave and never give up."

She nodded and he held out his hand and she shook it with a renewed smile, "I can help."

Natsu stood up, seeing Gray walking toward them, he pointed toward the ice wizard, "this is Gray, he's our friend ok?"

The little girl saw the ice that formed at the edge of his hands and tilted her head, "ice dragon?"

"Sure, close enough." Natsu replied with a frown from Gray.

"Ok all you have to do is lead us the fastest way out of your town, ok? If any adults try to talk to us I want you to talk to them."

"Talk to them?" The little girl asked and Natsu nodded, "tell them a story or start crying, get their attention, ok?"

"Oh..ok."

The three of them headed out of from the alley, following the little girl who skipped with her dragon outfit between adults as Gray and Natsu tried to keep up with her.

A man glanced their way, a voice reaching out toward them, "hey, come here for a moment, will ya?"

Natsu and Gray paused but the little girl had already turned around and raced up to the man with a wide smile, jumping around and crying out, "I'm a dragon!"

The man paused staring at the little girl and they continued walking slowly toward the front where she was leading them. He heard her chat him up a storm and when the two of them were no longer in site Natsu saw her rejoin them with a smile. Natsu patted her shoulder as she ran past them and she giggled in response.

Gray paused as they began to reach the entrance where guards were held up, escorting people in and out of the town.

"Damn." Gray replied, "I didn't realize how tight security would be."

Natsu frowned, pausing in his tracks as they neared the entrance, hearing one of the guards shout, "all helms and cloaks removed, ids to verify yourselves, NEXT!"

Natsu glanced toward Gray who was looking around the sides, determining a different exit. The little girl stopped as well and looked up before tracing her eyes toward the guards Gray had spoken of.

Natsu was about to say something when an interesting sound caught his attention. A couple of men stood nearby, dressed similarly to the guards. His eyes flicked overhearing their husky voices, almost drowned out from the families passing them by.

"-Yeah it's near Shirtosame."

They leaned against the frame of a bar house, they had those same eyes he saw earlier that day. Anger. Sadness. Revenge.

He frowned, pushing back the memory earlier today that dared to strangle him.

"Do you think it will work? Using the celestial keys like that..?"

 _Celestial keys? I thought that is what I heard… What do celestial keys have anything to do with this town?_

The man shrugged, "if it's to protect the common folk, I say give it a fighting chance. The best we can do is to limit wizards from holding too much power."

 _Lucy..._

The other gentleman nodded, "gathering the keys is smart, but we still have the other slayers to worry about. They didn't even execute the one they caught today." he spit on the side, "a damn shame if you ask me."

Natsu felt bile rise in his throat, tightening his grip around Happy with a shudder.

 _So they aren't just attacking the dragon slayers, they're going after celestial wizards too, why?_

Something grabbed his shoulder and he jumped seeing Gray stare at him who pointed up ahead; the little girl had raced up to the two guards while they stood idly by.

They watched her tug at the closest guard man's leggings, the man looked down with a frown, "Lily, what do you want? I don't have time for your silly games today."

She frowned and suddenly broke into loud tears, causing a commotion. The two guards who stood nearby glanced over, while families trying to get in and out of the town were staring at the scene that was unfolding.

Natsu smirked, _that couldn't have been any better timing_ , he grabbed Gray's arm and hurriedly pulled him through the confused crowd until they found themselves outside the gates and slowed down once their feet touched the grass. Natsu took in a few breaths and looked back alongside Gray.

"Smart kid, to cause a scene like that." Gray stated and Natsu nodded, "yeah, maybe she will be a fine wizard one day."

Looking back he saw the little girl pull herself out of the crowd, fake tears gone, an evil smile on her face. She raced past families, looking around before spotting them far off. She stopped and smiled, waving as alarms suddenly began to blare behind her. She looked back, startled hearing, "prisoners escaped"

"Well, that's our cue!" Gray stated and Natsu nodded with a smile and they dashed away, disappearing in the woods off the path and away from the town. After they were far enough away when they could no longer hear the alarms, the two of them slowed down to a slow walk.

Natsu turned to Gray, "Here, take Happy." Natsu handed the blue ball of fluff to the ice wizard who took him hesitantly.

"What- Why?"

"I need to do something," Natsu replied, taking a step back with a frown without any other information to offer...

 _Gathering the keys is smart,_ he frowned from the memory. _If they were gathering the keys, they must be looking for the strongest keys. Lucy has a ton of celestial keys, Shirtosame huh?_ Natsu looked to the North East then back to Happy who lay in Grays' arms _. I can't turn my back on this, so I'll need to put my trust in Gray. If what I'm thinking is true, then I can't just run away._

Gray frowned in return, "you're not telling me something." He shifted Happy's weight, glancing at the unconscious cat then back at the fire wizard with concerned eyes.

"I know, but you just need to trust me... and Happy can't wait any longer…" He trailed off, "-it's my fault he's hurt, and he needs someone to look after him." Natsu brushed the cat's ears and backed away avoiding Grays heavy gaze.

 _Just trust me._

Their eyes meet and Gray sighed, "I can't convince you to say otherwise, will you be ok without your powers?"

Natsu smiled and lifted his arm, "Who do you think you're talking to? I'll be fine! I've got more than just fire power behind these!" He held up his arms and Gray rolled his eyes.

"Alright, whatever," Gray replied, he began to turn around, Natsu smiled, a weight lifted from his chest.

"Thank you."

Gray nodded and put Happy in the small bag he was carrying, "Don't worry I'll take care of him."

Natsu smirked, "you better, that's one of my best friends you have there." He paused, "Both of you are."

Gray cast a side glance toward him, raising his eyebrows in surprise, "you're not going soft on me are you?"

Natsu laughed and folded his arms with a smirk, "not in a long shot, ice head."

"Better than being a hot head" Gray retorted and ducked to avoid a rock tossed his way from the fire wizard.

"Hey!" Gray shouted, forming an ice ball, throwing it to the fire wizard who stepped further away from the pair.

Natsu ducked, paused, the rock slipping from his hand as he saw a vision of the villagers throwing rocks while he was pinned against the ground.

 _"You killed him!"_

 _"I hate wizards because of you!"_

Natsu frowned, Gray paused as well, "hey." he called out. Natsu looked up at one of his closest friends who tilted his head.

"I don't know what happened, but...I'm here for you, we all are. And if you say you need to do something, then I'll trust you to get back to Fairy Tail in one piece, you hear me?" Natsu stared at Gray who threw a hand pointing his finger lazily toward the sky, the sign of fairy tail. Natsu felt a rush of air escape his lips as a small smile formed. He nodded in confirmation.

Gray continued as he began to walk away, "Also...don't let your past control your future...I'll see you later.."

Soon his form disappeared between the trees and his scent washing away with him.

"See ya," Natsu whispered, His voice catching the wind, perplexed at his latest statement. Closing his fists he looked up toward the sun, determining his position then started east. The sun was setting, so it was going to be getting late soon. Feeling his limbs as heavy as they were, he wasn't too sure how long he could keep up with the trek without light or energy. Since he couldn't rely on his fire, this was going to be a little more of a challenge.

"You would think with me going unconscious I wouldn't be so exhausted." He noted, staring at his fists.

 _Today has been utter garbage. But...I can't worry about that right now. Celestial wizards are the next target and if I know Lucy, she's going to be in the in middle of it._

 _There is no way in hell I'm going to let her go through the same thing I went through._

He felt the wind rip at his clothes and clenched his fists, he was all alone. But perhaps that wasn't a bad thing. Looking toward the waning moon against the setting sun, he set his sights toward Shirtosame. Each step he took was closer to his best friend. The one he left behind, and if his instincts were correct, she was going to be in trouble very soon.

 _I might not have my powers, but I'm going to everything I can in my power to be there for you._

 _If they were willing to go this far with one dragon slayer, I don't want to know what they're going to do with celestial mages._

* * *

 **As you can imagine, the two of them may end up meeting in the next couple of chapters. I wonder what's going to happen,** _ **what will happen to Lucy? Will Natsu get his powers back?**_ **Leave a review below, and see you next time!**

 **Thank you for everyone who has followed, favorited and reviewed my story. You help continue my story each chapter until I see it till the end.!**

 _ **If you enjoyed it this far, leave me a review or favorite!**_


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